Cape Cod was the perfect place for such a proactive prototype, a single geographic entity from which lessons learned on a microcosmic scale could be applied to the macrocosm. In particular, the emphasis was on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation sources and assessing the effects of climate change on land use and transportation infrastructure. The goal was to take a systems or holistic approach to planning that looked across jurisdictional boundaries, assorted land uses, and transportation corridors in an attempt to understand their interconnected effects. In 2009, a federal interagency working group selected Cape Cod as a pilot project area to address climate change.
The potential for sea-level rise and increases in storm intensity due to climate change, coupled with the impact of population growth and longer tourist seasons, have raised concerns among local and regional planning agencies about Cape Cod's future. But for some, like those who live on the cape, this is of little comfort. It can be argued that climate change is a natural process. Since the cape's existence and human culture are dependent on its coastal areas, the subject of climate change is provocative. The population change map demonstrates what a dispersed pattern of growth might look like if development spreads out.
