In the last two decades coastal urban areas have taken steps to better minimize flooding and runoff by creating more permeable surfaces and encouraging residents to participate in water retention and use-reduction programs. These efforts, ranging from adding rain barrels and cisterns, to installing water-efficient fixtures, are making a difference, according to new research from Drexel University. And they may play an even more important role as sea level rise and the extreme weather effects of climate change increase the threat of flooding in these communities.