The Coastline Is Infrastructure. We Should Fund It Like Infrastructure.

When the state debates coastal resilience funding, the conversation too often gets framed around beaches and tourism revenue, as though the primary thing at stake is a summer visitor's experience. That framing understates what's actually on the line: drainage systems for inland neighborhoods, port infrastructure that moves real cargo, and housing for year-round residents in flood-prone areas who have nowhere else to go.

Narragansett Bay's shoreline is working infrastructure in the same category as our bridges and water pipes, not a scenic backdrop we maintain for postcard value. When we fund coastal resilience like it's a tourism amenity, it gets deprioritized against "real" infrastructure the moment budgets tighten.

The legislature's current bond discussion is an opportunity to correct that framing. Coastal resilience isn't competing with roads and water systems for funding — it is that kind of infrastructure, and our budget priorities should reflect that plainly.