From October 28 to 31, 2024, the inaugural Flooding Adaptation Symposium took place in Kissimmee, Florida, organized by Florida Sea Grant and the UF College of Design, Construction, and Planning. The event brought together over 120 participants to discuss and address the pressing issue of flooding in Florida’s coastal and inland areas.
The symposium’s theme, “Spotlighting Solutions for Florida”, highlighted the importance of understanding local contexts when developing effective flood adaptation strategies. The session began with a welcome address from Mike Steigerwald, City Manager, and Chief Executive Officer of the City of Kissimmee. He shared anecdotes about the city’s challenges amid recent inland and urban flooding and discussed the measures Kissimmee has implemented to become more resilient in the face of future events.
The opening plenary keynote was delivered by Wesley Brooks, Chief Resilience Officer of the Florida Statewide Office of Resilience, who discussed Florida’s approach to statewide solutions and its unique flood challenges.
“Florida is different from other states in that we prioritize local solutions,” said Brooks. “Flooding affects all of Florida, and every community has its vulnerabilities. That’s why we need adaptable, community-specific solutions.”
The three-day event aimed to share academic research, explore effective approaches to mitigate flooding, and promote the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas. Attendees had the opportunity to learn from a wide range of experts and peers through keynotes, presentations, panel sessions, and interactive activities. Topics covered nature-based solutions, technology, modeling and data, infrastructure and design, policy, and economics.
On the first day, participants participated in an icebreaker activity designed to help them reflect on their intentions for attending the symposium and share the needs they wanted to address during and after the event to advance their work on climate and flood resilience. Participants recorded their input on flip charts around the room, where common themes quickly emerged. Participants who could help with identified needs were able to add their contact information to those notes on the flip charts throughout the three days.
One unique feature of the symposium was the Tools Café, held at the end of each day. This interactive space allowed attendees to explore poster sessions, engage with professionals about software tools and management techniques, and learn about funding opportunities for flood resilience planning.
For the closing keynote session, Jeffrey Huber presented “Salty Urbanism,” a talk inspired by his book that emphasized the take-home message that tackling these challenges requires a team. Focusing on the interdisciplinary collaboration needed for neighborhoods to plan for sea level rise, he used Fort Lauderdale’s North Beach Village neighborhood as a case study. Huber presented an optimistic, forward-thinking perspective, viewing flooding as an opportunity to improve our communities with sustainable and efficient design and planning.
Key Highlights
Participants
- 126 attendees from six U.S. states and two international countries (Canada and Australia)
- Represented a diverse mix of sectors including
- Academic institutions
- Government agencies (local, state, federal)
- Corporate and industry partners
- Non-profit organizations
- Private consultants and private-sector groups
- Students
- Two distinguished keynote speakers provided valuable insights and inspiration on flood adaptation and resilience.
Presentations
- 46 presenters shared research, case studies, and innovations in flood adaptation. Session topics included:
- Resilient Cities: Assessing Vulnerabilities for Adaptation
- Housing and Building Adaptation: Risk Mitigation for Property Owners
- Reflections on Resilience: How Florida is Institutionalizing a Solutions-Oriented Approach
- Flood-Smart Land Use Planning
- Adaptive Watershed Management
- Engaging Communities in Adaptation Efforts
- Decision Support Tools for Flood Adaptation
- Funding Flood Adaptation Initiatives
- 13 poster presentations highlighted ongoing projects and tools for enhancing flood resilience.
Interactive Sessions
- Tools Café Exhibition
- 12 interactive exhibits showcased the latest technologies and tools for flood adaptation.
- Icebreaker and Intention Setting Activity
- Most participants expressed interest in tools, resources, and information sharing on topics including funding, community education, nature-based solutions, case studies, success stories, collaboration strategies, accessible research, policy, networking opportunities, and much more.
- Most participants expressed interest in tools, resources, and information sharing on topics including funding, community education, nature-based solutions, case studies, success stories, collaboration strategies, accessible research, policy, networking opportunities, and much more.
