Nícola Ulibarrí contributes to multidisciplinary project aimed at improving our coastline
The Department of Urban Planning & Public Policy will play a part in shaping the UC Irvine Climate Collaboration’s multidisciplinary Healthy Coasts Project, whose aim is to develop sediment solutions for Southern California beach stabilization, stormwater capture and more healthy coasts and rivers.
“I will be leading the policy and regulatory analysis,” says Nícola Ulibarrí, an associate professor of urban planning & public policy and leader of the Ulibarrí Research Group, which is composed of doctoral students in geography, political science and environmental studies who examine environmental policy, governance and management.
The Healthy Coasts Project includes faculty from UC Irvine’s Samueli School of Engineering and the Paul Merage School of Business as well as researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and various public agencies across the region.
“The engineers will be considering ways to re-operate the infrastructure to get more sediment to our beaches and coasts,” Ulibarrí explains, “and my team will be evaluating how we can update existing policies and permitting approaches to make these changes feasible.”
The project is made possible with $1.015 million in Community Project Funding sponsored by Rep. Dave Min (D-Irvine), co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) and endorsed with letters of support by Assembly Members Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) and Laurie Davies (R-Oceanside), Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, and California Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge.
Led by Chancellor’s Professor of civil and environmental engineering Brett Sanders, the UC Irvine Climate Collaboration was formed in 2025 with a goal of breaking down disciplinary silos and building the partnerships with government agencies, communities and the private sector needed to identify transformative solutions to increasingly urgent climate, resilience and sustainability challenges.
Others working on the Healthy Coasts Project are Professor of economics and Director of the Center for Real Estate Edward Coulson; Distinguished Professor of civil and environmental engineering Efi Foufoula-Georgiou; and USGS research geologists Amy East and Jonathan A. Warrick.
“This project is an incredible opportunity to re-thiu nk the way we manage Orange County's most valuable resources,” Ulibarrí says. “Instead of having infrastructure get in the way of a healthy environment, we aim to work with that infrastructure to protect our beaches, provide habitat, and still maintain a robust water supply.”
— Matt Coker
Photo by Steve Zylius
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