Climate-proofing coastal cities is an important part of the current policy agenda for climate adaptation, particularly in a situation where waterfront redevelopment is accelerating. Cities call for innovative approaches integrating climate protection with urban attractiveness and waterfront endeavors. There is a lack of studies targeting policy processes for coastal protection, including the choice of adaptation strategies and impediments for implementation. Sweden is an interesting case due to the decentralized character of coastal adaptation. Consequently, this paper aims to analyze the status of and conditions for large-scale multifunctional coastal protection by means of qualitative analyses of policy documents and interviews with frontline practitioners in four Swedish coastal cities: Malmo center dot, Gothenburg, Helsingborg and Landskrona. The analysis documents a predominant focus on envisioning/planning for coastal protection rather than implementation of adaptation measures. While waterfront development functions as a window of opportunity in the more populous cities it also risks creating fragmentation and social imbalances in coastal protection between cities and their various coastal areas. Key implementation determinants emphasize formal institutional aspects, where politics and political decision-making need to set the necessary terms ensuring implementation. Current public-private and nationallocal distribution of responsibilities, stepwise planning and limited funding-mechanisms create uncertainties in system robustness and coherency. The consequences of a system for coastal protection heavily reliant on decentralized action needs to be properly considered by adaptation policy-makers.