Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to provide a cost-centric policy approach to coastal resiliency planning. Current policy dynamics in many countries treat risky coastal areas as revenue centers. This results in coastal resiliency policies that are focused on maintaining the economic value of increasingly risky coastal assets. As a counter proposal, this paper presents a policy framework that acknowledges the evolving risks of coastal living, identifies existing asset value, and then works to transfer that existing value away from risky coastal areas to inland areas that are prioritized as net migration centers and areas for economic development. The main mechanism for value transfer is a transfer development right, or TDR. Using the United States as an example, this paper outlines how this process would work in action and how it differentiates from current coastal policy dynamics. Finally, it identifies a number of implementation issues for further consideration. The goal is to provide an example of how new policy can be developed to counteract the perverse incentives embedded in existing policy paradigms that collectively prohibit meaningful adaptation planning in an era of climate-induced sea level rise.