About This Story Map
Coastal communities across the United States are experiencing extensive and rapid changes in their economies, communities, and cultural identities. In this story map, we describe these changes in one community, the town of Beaufort, North Carolina. Over time, Beaufort has transitioned from a community dependent on commercial fishing to one increasingly reliant on tourism and recreation. Using historical maps, government planning documents, and newspaper archives, we trace this transition through time to inform and illustrate this story. Although this story map is about Beaufort, it is likely a familiar one for many coastal communities. Our hope is that the story map can help people living in coastal communities make sense of changes happening to their spaces.
Menhaden Fleet | 1940 • Source
Navigating This Story Map
The information on this story map is organized in an order that will help the reader understand this story of change. It begins by outlining how change has manifested in coastal communities more broadly, then moves to describing two very distinct eras of Beaufort - Beaufort Then and Beaufort Now. From there, the story map discusses how fisheries have slowly declined and tourism has evolved throughout Beaufort’s history. Then, it draws comparisons between the two eras of Beaufort to offer context for how coastal gentrification occurred in this community. Finally, the story map provides concluding thoughts on how to make sense of this type of transition.
At the bottom of each section, you will find the title of the next page and an arrow icon:
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Clicking this text will bring you to the next section of the story. However, you are able to jump between pages, using the drop down menu located on the upper right hand corner of each page, or navigate back to the previous page by clicking the directional arrow at the bottom left.
The Story of Coastal Change
The United States was founded on the coast and the first towns were successful due to the abundant natural resources found throughout the eastern seaboard. Coastal communities have been vital to the economic success of the United States and served as important industrial and cultural hubs (1, 2). As these places developed, their economies, infrastructure, and unique community identities were often rooted in and constructed to support livelihoods centered on the use of marine resources.
Today, coastal spaces remain an integral part of the United States. As of 2014, coastal counties account for approximately 48% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and house 40% of the population (1, 3). This economic and cultural contribution is derived from several industries that rely on the proximity to the coast, one of which is commercial fishing. Commercial fishing communities provide linkages to marine resources and offer radiating impacts into other sectors of the economy such as seafood processing, recreational activities, and food services. On an annual basis, this sector alone contributes about 9 billion pounds of domestic seafood, valued at $5.6 billion, and provides about 1.2 million jobs (4).
However, numerous factors have contributed to a shift in the economic and cultural foundations of coastal spaces away from commercial fishing towards tourism and recreation. What is happening in many of these communities can be described as ‘coastal gentrification.’ This process is complicated, multifaceted, and not easy to identify while it is happening. Therefore, it is important that coastal communities are equipped with the necessary knowledge to fully realize the ways that change manifests in their communities.
Inlet Inn on Front Street | 1910s • Source
