Image: Overwash at Nauset Beach, WHOI Sea Grant

As coastal communities confront the reality of sea level rise and extreme weather events more often than ever before, municipal governments often struggle to decide which projects to prioritize and where to begin. While large scale hard infrastructure defenses might get headlines and attention (both positive i.e. Living Sea Walls and negative i.e. Nantuket) at town meetings, many towns are strategically relocating- small scale infrastructure. These small scale, incremental interventions quickly add up to broader implementation of practical adaptation.  

Recurring flooding leads to land erosion and stresses on infrastructure like roads, parking lots, certain utilities and other town assets situated in low lying areas. New England towns and cities are often forced to address the damage to their aging infrastructure with limited municipal budgets. Instead of constantly repairing and rebuilding these assets, relocating small assets is often cheaper and more cost-effective. Below are recent examples of small-scale relocation initiatives in Massachusetts coastal towns: 

 
SCITUATE, MA (2024) – Scituate was recently forced to address a vulnerability to their wastewater processing pump, which was located within a floodplain. The pump was located beside a field that began to flood regularly with storms and occasionally at extreme high tides. Fortuitously, the pump was also at the end of its lifecycle so Scituate chose to both rebuild and relocate the water pump out of the floodplain. Residents did not object. This project was an opportunistic relocation – the asset was both inundated and not working, so rather than rebuilding in place, Scituate relocated the pump away from the hazard. 

ORLEANS, MA (2016) – Nauset Beach in Orleans has taken steps to implement a relocation of their parking lot and beach administrative building. Natural systems have changed in the area, influencing the natural sand deposit patterns on the beach in such a way that the protective dune between the ocean and buildings was estimated to be eroded away by 2025. Because of this, Nauset can no longer rely on predictable erosion patterns and chose to invest in coastal mapping in 2016. This mapping revealed to local planners that proactive relocation was necessary because of the drastic level of erosion expected to take place by 2025. Citizens of Orleans recognized the value of protecting and maintaining accessibility to Nauset Beach and supported town decision making for relocation of the infrastructure. The town purchased a parcel of land from the National Park Services about 650ft inland to host the relocated administrative building and parking lot without interrupting daily beach activities. This project is a strong case for the value of scientific information, public participation in decision making, and a phased implementation. 

BREWSTER, MA (2014) – At Breakwater Beach Landing, Brewster faced repeated storm damage and erosion that threatened a public parking area and beach access point. Rather than continuing costly repairs in a highly exposed location, the town implemented a proactive relocation strategy supported by the Massachusetts Coastal Resilience Grant Program. Brewster removed the paved parking lot close to the shoreline and relocated it several hundred feet inland. At the same time the project restored dunes and coastal vegetation in its place to function as a natural protective buffer to storm surges.  Early public engagement and coastal mapping helped build community support by demonstrating future erosion risks and the financial inefficiency of rebuilding in place. Brewster’s experience illustrates how small-scale, grant-supported relocations paired with natural system restoration can deliver strong outcomes while maintaining community trust and access to coastal assets.

Your municipality might consider a relocation project if you’re experiencing repeated storm damage, insurance losses, have assets located within a floodplain, or have assets at the end of their functional lifecycle. Being aware of the threats you face is an essential first step. Additionally, building a relationship with your community to identify and align your planning goals will allow you to address these threats more effectively. Planning with goals set on a longer timeline can create a massive cost benefit when considering the cost of constant rebuilding. Consider utilizing state coastal programs, resilience grants, and regional planning agencies to assist with the financial and technical burdens associated with relocation. Small scale relocations are politically practical and may avoid the conflicts that large scale relocation can create because they minimize disruption while still reducing long term risk. 

It’s important to remember that relocation does not mean abandonment, it means the exact opposite. It displays the value your municipality holds in its assets by investing in continued protection and ensuring accessibility of them for generations to come. These small steps can result in a cumulative effect that is a meaningful tool in combating climate change risks. Projects like those in Scituate, Orleans, and Charlestown demonstrate that small adjustments made today can safeguard critical assets tomorrow.