Project Director: Tim J.B. Carruthers

Funding Organization: National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine: Gulf Research Program

Funding Cycles: Healthy Ecosystems 1

Description: Researchers will examine the costs and benefits of expanding oil and gas activity in coastal Louisiana by looking at how human well-being and ecosystems changed as onshore oil and gas infrastructure developed from 1950 to 2015. By mapping trends in these relationships at different levels (by parish, by community, and coast-wide), this work intends to help future land managers make informed decisions about coastal planning and restoration in Louisiana’s rapidly-changing coastal areas. The decision-making framework this research produces could also be relevant to other Gulf coast areas with developing oil and gas infrastructure.