. >> reporter: charleston mayor john tecklenburg, a blue leader in a deep red state, campaigned on theoking over your state of the city address of the four top issues you see climate change as one of those four? >> absolutely. well, as i say, we're at the forefront of it. and i view it as an existential threat to this city. >> reporter: a tall order for one of the most popular destinations of the country, the charleston region alone growing three times faster than the u.s. average. that growth means more tourists, more buildings, more roads, more homes. strains on a delicate landscape already plagued by climate change's wrath. >> for years we built in the wrong places, and it caused flooding problems. and so we've revised our storm water manual so that when you build something in the city of charleston, you're not only thinking about the drainage from your property and surrounding properties, but in fact, everything in the drainage basin. everything downstream from you till it gets to the ocean. >> reporter: a plan in place, including protecting marshes and wetlands, buying up properti