Planning for Resilience in Flood Prone Areas with a focus on Sumas, Washington
In this presentation, we explore how flood-prone communities can strengthen resilience through innovative land use and economic development strategies. The City of Sumas partnered with Western Washington University Urban Planning Studio to reimagine the Cherry Street/SR 9 corridor through downtown Sumas. Supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation Thriving Communities Program, the project developed recommendations focused on transportation safety, mixed-use development, economic revitalization, floodproofing, and environmental restoration. Following the devastating December 2025 flooding from the Nooksack River, the work gained renewed urgency amid significant social and economic disruption. During the presentation, we will present planning recommendations, community engagement findings, and resilience strategies, including zoning flexibility, wetland restoration, safer transportation design, and adaptive reuse of buyout properties. These approaches offer transferable lessons for communities facing increasing flood risks.
About the Speaker
Tammi is a Professor in the Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy (UEPP) Department and the Program Director for the nationally accredited Urban Planning and Sustainable Development (UPSD) Program at WWU teaching courses in land use regulations and technical writing, community development and participatory methods, history of planning, environmental impact assessment, and the planning studio.
Dr. Laninga enjoys mentoring students. She has supervised over twenty masters students and one Ph.D. student; served as a committee member for many others; and advises undergraduate student internships, independent study projects, and Sustainability, Equity and Justice Fund (SEJF) grants.
Environmental Speaker Series
The Environmental Speaker Series is hosted by the College of the Environment at Western Washington University.
The Series is free and open to the public. Talks are held each Thursday at 4:30 pm in Academic Instructional Center West room 204 - AW-204. Parking is available in lot C.