Perceived effectiveness drives shoreline decision-making for Florida's waterfront property owners

Urbanization of shorelines has altered the structure, function, and dynamics of coastal ecosystems. Consequently, these areas are less resilient to sea-level rise and coastal flooding. To protect vulnerable property, coastal residents often harden their shorelines using traditional approaches like seawalls and bulkheads. Nature-based solutions, such as living shorelines, are an alternative method to prevent erosion while providing additional benefits but are less common than hardened shorelines. Because decisions regarding private shoreline management often fall on the homeowner, there is a need to understand perceptions of shoreline management options. We conducted an address-based survey of waterfront property owners in Florida to explore their satisfaction with their current shoreline and driving factors behind how they manage and protect their shoreline. Perceived effectiveness was the most important factor driving shoreline management decisions. Most respondents were satisfied with their shoreline regardless of shoreline type (mean ± SD = 7.5 ± 2.3 of 10), but satisfaction was significantly higher among homeowners with natural shorelines (8.22 ± 2.13) than those with armored shorelines (7.38 ± 2.19). Owners of living and natural shorelines reported spending less time and money on their shorelines and recognized the environmental benefits by assigning significantly higher environmental ratings to their shorelines (4.20 ± 0.75 and 4.29 ± 0.20 of 5, respectively) in comparison to homeowners with armored shorelines (3.22 ± 0.79). However, respondents perceived natural and living shorelines to be significantly less effective at shoreline protection (mean protection score of 3.46 ± 1.10 and 3.49 ± 0.66 of 5, respectively) compared to armored shorelines (mean protection score = 4.0 ± 0.75). Analyses revealed a strong influence of neighboring shoreline type, though only 21.5% of waterfront property owners in our survey self-identified this as a major driver of their decisions. Moreover, there appears to be a general lack of understanding about how shoreline management decisions affect adjacent properties, with only 34.7% of respondents believing that a neighboring shoreline influenced their own. Owners of armored and hybrid shorelines exhibited a general belief that their shoreline benefitted neighboring properties (ratings of 3.59 ± 0.91 and 3.45 ± 0.86 of 5, respectively) while owners of natural shorelines rated their shoreline's influence as most neutral (2.67 ± 0.65). Further research into the effectiveness of different living shoreline designs compared to hardened shorelines to prevent erosion and storm damage may lead to greater adoption of living shorelines. Strategic communications focusing on aspects most misunderstood or most valued by homeowners, such as effectiveness, longevity, and cost, could increase the salience of living shorelines as an advantageous shoreline management approach.