All News & Ideas

The North Richmond Living Levee demonstrates how community-centered climate adaptation can move from vision to implementation when agencies, community organizations and stakeholders work together around a shared goal. Over the past decade, residents, local governments, infrastructure providers and environmental organizations have shaped a collaborative approach to sea level rise adaptation that protects critical infrastructure, restores habitat, expands public access and advances community priorities. The resulting Living Levee has become a model for multi-benefit, nature-based shoreline resilience.

Join Mithun partner Tim Mollette-Parks for the presentation and workshop “From Living Levee to Regional Resilience: Building a Collaborative Shoreline Adaptation Strategy in Contra Costa County” to hear how diverse partners aligned around a common climate challenge. The session will highlight lessons learned from community leadership, stakeholder working groups, participatory planning, interagency coordination and strategic funding that helped move the project toward implementation. Attendees will then engage in a facilitated Solution Lab to explore how these approaches can be applied in their own communities. Drawing on lessons from the Living Levee and ongoing Richmond and Contra Costa shoreline adaptation efforts, attendees will identify practical strategies for building partnerships, aligning stakeholder interests and advancing community-centered resilience initiatives.

Tim will facilitate the session with Environmental Science Associates director of climate planning services Jeff Caton. Additional speakers include City of Richmond senior planner Michelle Morris, Contra Costa County/Department of Conservation and Development assistant deputy director Ryan Hernandez, The Watershed Project senior manager Naama Raz-Yaseef and West County Wastewater general manager Andrew Clough.

Date Posted: 10.22.2026