The first step in the scenario planning process is to identify the key question or issue that our community of stakeholders is trying to address. This helps for everyone to be on the "same page" when we begin to discuss our community's strategic challenge and how we might focus our efforts.

In previous workshops and discussions, we worked through several processes to identify the critical forces influencing our coastline. This brief video provides a summary and this infographic lists the key insights from Workshop 2.

Based on the research and participant perspectives shared, two of the key driving forces shaping our shoreline's future are: the intensity of climate change impacts and the intensity of development. The next step is to combine and synthesize data and insights about these two, most critical forces, to create a small number of plausible futures. Again, the goal is not to identify the "one" future, but look at the multiple scenarios in front of us.

The south shore of Lake Superior is not uniform in physical or human geography. Thus, we should consider what each scenario might look like with different types of development in a range of plausible contexts. For example, new development will be different than re-development on a post-industrial site. Additionally, bike paths, roadways and critical utilities often run along our shoreline. These areas may require a different, or even a combination of development approaches to prevent further damage from coastal hazards and climate change impacts.

For the sake of this project, we've chosen three types of coastal sites. Each location type illustrates the different kinds of development found along the south shore of Lake Superior. (prototype images created by StudioRAD).