Coastal resilience planning has traditionally treated built infrastructure and nature-based solutions as separate—even competing—strategies, creating silos that undermine comprehensive community protection. This presentation challenges this false dichotomy by demonstrating that resilient housing is not merely a beneficiary of coastal protection but a critical component of integrated coastal resilience that must work in concert with natural systems.

Drawing on recent studies and data from Gulf Coast pilot communities, we present evidence that resilient construction methods deliver substantial economic returns, including measurable reductions in storm damage and long-term cost savings. However, these benefits are maximized only when housing resilience is strategically integrated with natural systems management—when dunes, marshes, and resilient buildings function as complementary layers of protection rather than isolated interventions.

When communities recognize that strengthening housing stock is as fundamental to coastal protection as restoring wetlands, it catalyzes more holistic planning that considers land use, building standards, natural habitat protection, and community equity as interconnected elements. Case studies from Gulf Coast cities, counties, and parishes demonstrate how integrated approaches—supported by tools like the Resilient Housing Planning Guide & Workbook—facilitate cross-sector collaboration between emergency managers, natural resource planners, housing authorities, and community organizations.

We identify key barriers preventing this integration, including fragmented funding streams, disciplinary silos in planning processes, and policy frameworks that inadvertently pit built and natural solutions against each other. The presentation concludes with recommendations for restructuring coastal resilience planning to treat housing and natural systems as two essential components of the same protective strategy, ultimately building communities that are more equitable, economically sustainable, and genuinely resilient to tomorrow's hazards.