The goal of this project was to shape a community dialogue around sea level rise adaptation and the role of managed retreat in one of California’s largest coastal cities, Long Beach. The goal of these dialogues is to find ways of engaging residents that empower them to participate in the design of future communities. With the help of Virtual Planet Technologies, TNC California developed a virtual reality (VR) experience with the community to visualize sea level rise impacts and potential solutions for Long Beach. The VR serves as a tool to catalyze community discussions about current and future risk and options for long-term resilience, including controversial topics like managed retreat.