This volume investigates the technical, environmental, and regulatory challenges associated with the expansion of human activity into coastal ocean spaces. The editors, Robert B. Abel and Susan D. Halsey, compile research from the inaugural 1989 symposium to address the growing pressure on coastal zones. The text provides a framework for balancing industrial development, resource extraction, and ecological preservation in marine environments.

Experts identify this text as a foundational record of early interdisciplinary approaches to marine spatial planning. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and its historical value in documenting the evolution of coastal management policies.