Urban Ocean Lab is a left-of-center think tank that promotes environmentalist policies with the future of coastal cities in mind. It asserts that coastal cities in the U.S. will experience an average of a one-foot rise in sea levels over the next 30 years, and also focuses on purported racial impacts of sea level rise.

Urban Ocean Lab is a fiscally sponsored by Multiplier, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ¹

Activities

Urban Ocean Lab designs and promotes policies related to climate change and ocean conservation. It asserts that coastal cities in the U.S. will experience an average of one foot rise in sea levels over the next 30 years, and must be prepared to adapt to this change. It advocates for non-traditional energy sources and the overhaul of city infrastructure with green alternatives. ²

Urban Ocean Lab also emphasizes racial equity as a key reason for supporting environmentalist policies. It claims that 60 percent of the 65 million Americans who live in coastal cities are racial minorities. Because these “historically-disadvantaged communities” are often “hit first and worst” by climate-related disasters, it describes its policies as simultaneously environmentally conscious and equitable. ³

Leadership

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab. Johnson has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in environmental science and public policy, and a Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in marine biology. Johnson is the co-creator of the How to Save a Planet podcast. She co-authored the “Blue New Deal,” a blueprint for including the ocean in climate policy. ⁴

Regarding the Blue New Deal, Johnson said she likes framing ocean policy like the “Green New Deal” because it gives policy makers “an opportunity to think about all the jobs and all the equity issues and all of the opportunities for climate mitigation that come along with doing a better job of including the ocean as part of the climate conversation.” ⁵ As of 2023, the text for the Blue New Deal was being hosted on a campaign website for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). ⁶

Johnson is the co-founder of the All We Can Save Project, ⁷ which works to mobilize environmentally-conscious people as political activists. ⁸ Previously, as executive director of the Waitt Institute, she co-founded the Blue Halo Initiative and led the Caribbean’s first successful island-wide ocean zoning effort. She also developed U.S. federal ocean policy at the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ⁹ She also co-founded Ocean Collectiv with Sandra Whitehouse, the wife of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). ¹⁰

The other co-founders are Marquise Stillwell and Jean Flemma. Stillwell is the founder of design studio Openbox and several other artistic organizations and sits on the advisory boards of Creative Capital and Riverkeeper, a New York-based environmentalist organization that aims to conserve the ecosystem of the Hudson River. ¹¹ Flemma is the director of the Ocean Defense Initiative and an advisor on climate policy to the Elakha Alliance and the Endangered Species Coalition. She has advised members of Congress on environmental matters for two decades. ¹²

1. “Donate.” Urban Ocean Lab. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://urbanoceanlab.org/donate.
2. “Urban Ocean Lab.” Urban Ocean Lab. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://urbanoceanlab.org/.
3. “Overview.” Urban Ocean Lab. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://urbanoceanlab.org/overview.
4. “Bio.” Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/bio.
5. Westervelt, Amy. “Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on the Blue New Deal.” Medium. September 17, 2019. Accessed September 14, 2023. https://medium.com/critical-frequency/dr-ayana-e-johnson-on-the-blue-new-deal-and-taking-an-intersectional-approach-on-climate-change-9b3aac7b707d.
6. “Blue New Deal.” Elizabeth Warren. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/blue-new-deal. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20230925002633/https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/blue-new-deal.
7. “Bio.” Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/bio.
8. “Project.” All We Can Save. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://www.allwecansave.earth/project.
9. “Bio.” Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/bio.
10. “Ocean Collectiv.” Crunchbase. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ocean-collectiv.
11. “Team.” Urban Ocean Lab. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://urbanoceanlab.org/team.
12. “Team.” Urban Ocean Lab. Accessed September 24, 2023. https://urbanoceanlab.org/team.