Publication Date

Fall 1996

Degree Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Urban Planning (MUP)

Department

Urban and Regional Planning

Abstract

Over the past 20 years California’s coastal management program has succeeded in making previously inaccessible stretches of California coastline available to the public. New stairways from coastal bluffs to the beaches below have been constructed, and coastal parks, trails and public recreational facilities have been created to enable larger numbers of California residents and visitors to access some of the world’s finest stretches of sandy beaches and reefs, tidepools, scenic views and surf. Today, roughly half of the state’s 1,100 mile stretch of coastline is in public ownership and, with the exception of military bases and public utility properties, nearly all of it is accessible to the public.

With an estimated 85 percent of California’s 32.7 million residents now living within 30 miles of the coast, the state’s shoreline recreational resources represent a critical source of public land that will be increasingly relied upon to meet the public’s growing demand for park and recreation areas. However, at the same time, the supply of coastal land available to the public for coastal access has steadily declined with the continued expansion of residential, commercial and industrial development along the coast Gaining momentum after World War Hand continuing today, this development trend poses a major challenge to ongoing efforts at providing enough coastal access to meet today’s demand.

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