Bone Dry in Texas: Resilience to Drought on the Upper Texas Gulf Coast

The Upper Texas Gulf Coast is vulnerable to weather-related hazards including drought. Climate change is likely to increase losses and reduce supplies of freshwater during drought. Resilience, briefly defined as the ability to reduce vulnerability, to drought is crucial to coastal communities. This article examines drought, reviews the resilience literature, analyzes one community's efforts to address drought through their water resource management plans and their comprehensive plan, and concludes with a discussion regarding how resilience thinking can assist planners and their communities. First, resilience thinking facilitates the development of built environments that absorb change and persist. Second, resilience thinking encourages planners to keep options open across sectors and scales. Finally, resilience concepts can assist planners as they make decisions with limited knowledge.