Smart Zoning: Using Elevation and Wetlands to Prevent Flood Damage (May 15, 2026)

Smart Zoning: Using Elevation and Wetlands to Prevent Flood Damage Friday, May 15, 2026 Hosted by GPN's Climate & Community Resiliency Committee Rapid population growth and land development in coastal communities are increasingly intersecting with rising flood risks driven by sea level rise, land use change, and intensifying storm events. The Town of Bluffton, South Carolina—one of the fastest-growing municipalities in the United States—it provides a compelling case study for how science-based zoning strategies can reduce future flood vulnerability while still accommodating growth. This webinar presents an integrated geospatial modeling framework developed through a collaboration between the College of Charleston and the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium to assess both current and future flood risk under varying development scenarios. Using high-resolution elevation data, parcel-scale flood modeling, and watershed-based analysis, the study evaluates flood vulnerability across multiple storm return periods (2- to 500-year events) under both present (2023) and projected future (2053) conditions. The webinar also highlights how community engagement and local knowledge, collected through participatory mapping and flood reporting tools, can be integrated into technical modeling to support more informed and equitable planning decisions. Attendees will gain a transferable, GIS-based workflow for implementing smart zoning strategies—including elevation-based zoning and wetland protection overlays—that can be adapted to other coastal and flood-prone regions seeking to balance growth with resilience. Speaker: Norman S. Levine, Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences Speaker: Landon Knapp, Assistant Director for Research and Partnerships, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium Moderator: Kevin Mickey, GISP, Director of Geoinformatics, The Polis Center Luddy, School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering