Climate change adaptation planning and action are impeded by planning under uncertainty and community resistance to change. The concept of ‘the solution space’ refers to flexibility in the choice of adaptation options, and is associated with improved coastal resilience. Public support shapes the boundaries and size of the solution space by determining how many and what type of solutions are socially acceptable at any given time. But research on individual support for adaptation is rarely considered in this way.

Rather than focusing on a single best adaptation option, residents generally support several adaptation options simultaneously (see figure).

• Socio-demographic (e.g., age, political association) and cognitive (e.g., beliefs, worldviews) attributes do not explain differences in an individual’s solution space.
• While individuals may appraise adaptation options based on costs or aesthetics, this is less impactful on the size of their solution space than an individual’s philosophies and perspectives on how adaptation should occur.
• Those individuals that prefer a limited number of options (i.e., with a smaller solution space) are also those more inclined to consider alternative options if provided adequate information (e.g., are flexible in changing their preferences).

Residents acknowledge the importance of a wide solution space and typically endorse diversifying options in the face of uncertainty: to implement the most appropriate option today, with the potential to change tomorrow.

Surveys and interviews with residents in two coastal settlements (Yeppoon, Australia and Shediac, Canada) were undertaken to explore individual support across different adaptation options and the inclination to consider a range of options or to prioritise one option.

Contrary to conventional preference surveys that might emphasise a single ‘top’ solution or what might appear to be a community’s limited preferences, this study indicates that individuals are not limited to endorsing just one option. Even those with a smaller solution space are open to considering more adaptation options if their effectiveness and utility can be demonstrated. Therefore, by providing residents with more information there is the capacity to expand the solution space and increase community resilience.

The full paper is not currently available online.

Citation: Mallette A, Elrick-Barr C, Smith T, Blythe J, Plummer R. (2023). Broadening the solution space for coastal adaptation: Residents’ inclination to support a range of pathways, Forthcoming.

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This research was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council Discovery Projects Funding Scheme (Project FT180100652). This work contributes to Future Earth Coasts, a Global Research Project of Future Earth. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Government, Australian Research Council or Future Earth Coasts