A beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, Santa Monica is home to 89,736 people and is located on Santa Monica Bay. With amazing weather and close proximity to Los Angeles, the city soon became a famed resort town in the early 20th century–attracting many celebrities to build their extravagant beachfront homes on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).

Since the late 1980s the city has experienced a major population boom through the revitalization of its downtown core, increased tourism and job growth. Popular tourist sites in the city include Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier and Palisades Park overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

Like other coastal beach communities, coastal erosion due to coastal infrastructure and high human usage is an increasing challenge, and will become worse due to sea level rise. Santa Monica has a history of developing environmental and sustainability strategies, with the most recent focus on community-wide carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner.