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Staying, Leaving, & Adapting: Life Along Changing Coastlines

Did you know that nearly 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers of a coastline?

Visit the World on the Move page on our website to learn more about the World on the Move exhibit and additional Library programming.

Coastal communities are facing growing challenges due to changing shorelines, stronger storms, land loss, and shifting ecosystems. These changes affect homes, livelihoods, local traditions, and long-term planning for the future. In this talk, Dr. Parisa Rinaldi will explore how people in different parts of the world—from the Chesapeake to the Pacific Islands—are responding to these challenges. We’ll look at the difficult choices communities face around rebuilding, relocating, and preserving what matters most. Through real-world stories, we’ll ask: What does it mean to stay, to move, or to adapt when the land and water around us are in flux?

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Parisa Rinaldi is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at St. Mary's College of Maryland, working at the intersection of sustainability transitions and community resilience. She holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Development Studies from Universidad de los Andes. Her research has explored expertise, participation and water justice in Colombia’s extractive frontiers. She is currently collaborating on projects related to fishing livelihoods in Colombian port cities, affective dimensions of environmental activism, as well as action research and arts based pedagogies.

World on the Move: 250,00 years of Human Migration was developed by the American Anthropological Association, together with the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Smithsonian Exhibits. It is administered by the American Library Association’s Public Programs Office.

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