Full Issue PDF, Volume 66, Issue 5

AmericAn PlAnning AssociAtion 3 Many in the development community look for certainty. Certainty that the law won’t change dramatically and certainty that a single election won’t derail their plans. On the whole, regulators do their best to assure that consistency. But what if it’s a changing climate that’s certain? Sea levels are rising, storms are intensifying, and the impact of coastal development on inland residents is increasing. How should regulation adjust to these involuntary changes? In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Commission precluded most bans on coastal development subject to “background principles of ” state law, and one of those principles is the power to protect public health. This month’s first commentary author, University of Utah law professor Robin Kundis Craig, explains why Lucas doesn’t prevent states and municipalities from responding to climate change and its impacts on public health. And what are those impacts? Doctor and public health researcher Cindy L. Parker of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health warns of the dangers to public health posed by sea-level rise, climate change, and growing storms. Together, these authors present the planning tools to put in place resilient physical and service infrastructure and the legal tools to defend them from a takings claim.