We'd Better Start Swimming: A Plan For Climate Action, Economic Growth, And Equity In Corpus Christi, Texas.

Climate change is coming for Corpus Christi, Texas, and with it comes economic disruption. In this thesis, I lay out the challenges facing my hometown, and offer my thoughts on how the city might turn them into opportunities. I begin by laying out what I see as the specific threats facing the city as a result of both the direct effects of climate change, and the need to address those effects by taking action against the fossil fuel industry, which also serves as the primary local industry. I describe what national action on climate change could look like, and then discuss the specific risks of unmitigated global warming to Corpus. Next, I discuss the consequences of failing to plan for the coming changes, using analogies to previous points in American history and projecting current trends to the future. I analyze the specific ways in which Corpus may suffer from inaction, and identify some of the specific vulnerable populations who would be left behind in such a case. In this section, I also dive into the philosophical reasonings behind the need for action, and why it is that we should specifically care about saving the city of Corpus Christi. Following this, I offer my thoughts on the current COVID-19 crisis, which has profound implications for this work. Using my analysis of the current situation, I then offer a three-part plan for the post-fossil fuel future of the city of Corpus Christi. In this plan, I focus on infrastructure, economic development, and land use. I posit a broadening of definition of infrastructure, and advocate for a re-prioritization in how we shape our physical spaces. With economic development, I dive into some of the industries which thrive in the Corpus of the near future, and tackle the specific issue of displaced workers from the oil and gas industries. Finally, I explore a case study in economic land use policy, and offer a template for its application to the land which will one day be vacated by the refineries currently present in the city. I conclude with a discussion of some of the current forces which are accelerating the city’s timeline for action, and outline how my suggestions might apply in this specific case. Lastly, I end with a call to action, and my hope for the future of the city of Corpus Christi.