The trails, roads, paths, and waterways of the Halifax River Urban Watershed: Drivers and reflections of a changing landscape

Abstract

Globally, coastal urban areas are faced with numerous challenges that impact environmental and community resilience, including saltwater intrusion into aquifers and drinking water sources, flooding, and pollutant contamination of major waterways. These and other similar threats are expected to continue and worsen due to expanding urban development combined with the impacts of sea level rise. One such potentially impacted coastal area is the Halifax River (Figure 1), a 37-km long estuarine lagoon that runs along the eastern coast of Volusia County, Florida, with the city of Daytona Beach located centrally along its banks. The municipalities along the Halifax River include the coastal cities of Ormond Beach, Holly Hill, Daytona Beach, South Daytona, Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Shores, and Ponce Inlet.