Manhattan Beach Dune Restoration

MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA

Craft and collaboration shaped the Manhattan Beach Dune Restoration project, a living shoreline effort that restores approximately three acres of back-dune habitat along roughly 0.6 miles of coastline near Bruce’s Beach. Developed with public and nonprofit partners, the project treats the dune as working coastal infrastructure: a landscape that can support habitat, buffer the shoreline, and help communities think differently about how beaches perform over time.

Aerial view of a beach with light-colored sand and the ocean, with a row of modern residential houses behind a promenade lined with flowers and palm trees.

View of a beach with colorful flowers, a person riding a bicycle on a path, seagulls flying in the sky, modern houses along the shoreline, and the ocean in the background.

A sandy walkway leading up to modern beachfront houses, with colorful desert plants and flowers on either side, and a woman carrying a surfboard walking towards the houses.

People walking down a set of stairs towards a beach with sand, a lifeguard tower, and ocean waves. The sky is clear and blue, with birds flying overhead. A cyclist is riding along the sidewalk near the stairs.

Aerial view of a beachfront with a row of houses behind a green walkway lined with trees along the sandy beach and ocean.

The approach is intentionally light in feel but precise in its environmental ambition. Non-native vegetation is removed and replaced with native coastal species, while sand fencing, biomimicry stakes, protected pathways, and interpretive signage help the landscape establish itself and make its purpose legible to the public. Just as important, the project shows that meaningful restoration and an active public beach are not incompatible. It has become a regional model for nature-based shoreline protection and has since received national recognition, including ASBPA’s 2026 Best Restored Beach Award. Peter Emerson led the design and delivery of this project while employed at RIOS.

Rolling hills covered with green and gray vegetation under a partly cloudy sky.