Resilience Guidance for Charleston

Access Charleston’s first comprehensive resource for residents on environmental resilience strategies.

Read the Guidance

Empowering Residents to Prepare

The Resilience Guidance for Charleston is an initiative of the Preservation Society of Charleston to empower residents to pursue adaptations that enhance their property’s resilience to changing environmental conditions. This resource is the first of its kind for Charleston and was developed over the course of a year in partnership with the City of Charleston and led by heritage planning and design firm, Preservation Design Partnership.

“This publication is a roadmap for all residents, not only owners of historic homes, to take meaningful action that will contribute to our city’s resilience.”
-Brian Turner, President & CEO of Preservation Society

Guided by community feedback on experiences, attitudes, and priorities to address threat impacts, the guidelines provide accessible, effective recommendations for enhancing the resilience of existing properties and provide residents the tools they need to navigate the city approval process. 

Downtown flooding during high tide and storm events. Photos courtesy Jared Bramblett. 

Officially launched in Summer 2024, the Resilience Guidance for Charleston is organized by specific building and site components and provides readers with information to quickly identify areas of improvement, relative costs, level of necessary professional assistance, and local permit review requirements. 

View the full PDF of the Resilience Guidance for Charleston

Explore each chapter, with resilience upgrades you can make to your property:

Preamble

Resilience Upgrades: Overview

Landscaping Improvements 

Roof Systems 

Exterior Wood Elements 

Exterior Masonry 

Windows and Doors 

Building Systems 

Building Interiors 

Read more about the Climate Resilience Guidelines project 

Further Reading and Additional Resources