The Tampa Bay area has experienced an increase in severe weather challenges such as hurricanes and tropical storms that have left significant damage, highlighting the need for enhanced coastal resiliency following catastrophic events. VHB is helping the City of Tampa and nearby Hernando, Hillsborough, and Pinellas Counties enhance their coastal resiliency and recovery by developing a regional Post-Disaster Redevelopment Plan (PDRP). Once complete, the PDRP will provide crucial guidance and strategies for effective disaster response and long-term recovery, providing each county with a tailored roadmap to resilience, and an overarching regional framework that aligns efforts and optimizes resources across jurisdictions.
For Phase I of our comprehensive approach, VHB conducted in-depth research and stakeholder engagement—including a digital survey and series of public workshops—to gather critical input from community members, county departments and agencies. This collaborative process uncovered diverse needs across land use, housing, economic redevelopment, transportation, environmental restoration and infrastructure protection, which helped lay the groundwork for drafting initial plans. Our team developed an interactive GIS dashboard designed to evaluate risks, enabling communities to better understand vulnerabilities to floods, wind, and other climate-related threats and establish safeguards for key regional assets, including two international airports and Port Tampa Bay.
As the effort transitions into Phase Two, the focus will shift to weaving the individual county plans into a cohesive Regional Plan Framework. The successful development of the PDRP will set a benchmark for coastal resiliency planning aimed at protecting residents, visitors, and infrastructure from future weather-related threats, and position Tampa Bay as a leader in resilient community planning and a model for other coastal communities nationwide.
