Strategies of adapta.on and mi.ga.on of climate change on urban areas Margaretha Breil, Centro Euro-‐Mediterraneo sui cambiamen. clima.ci Venice, IUAV, July 2013
Climate Change?
Source: IPCC 4° Assessment Report, (FAR) 2007
Basic mechanisms
Source: IPCC 4° Assessment Report, (FAR) 2007
Expected temperature increases
Source: IPCC 4° Assessment Report, (FAR) 2007
Impacts – extreme events
Impacts – heat waves
Source: Robine et. al 2007
Impacts -‐ coastal flooding
Impacts -‐ droughts
Vulnerability Â
So what?
Mi.ga.on: what ci.es can do
Mi.ga.on: what ci.es can do
Mi.ga.on: what ci.es can do
Adap.ve ac.ons • Physically adapt to new boundaries: – building design – seVlements – physical infrastructures – management of urban «asseVs» (water, air, soil, biodiversity, energy flows)
• Increase resilience • Prepare for extreme events (mapping, early warning, etc.) • Protect against losses (management schemes, insurances, etc.)
Flexibility and adap.veness
Source: Haasnoot et. Al. 2013
Resilience? Not all damages can be prevented Aim: increase resilience Resilience is defined as: – The ability of a system to absorb shock and carry on performing the func7on that it was designed to do”
Uncertainty -‐ Flexibility • Climate change impacts are s.ll not perfectly known in their extend (depends also on the success of mi.ga.on efforts) • Adapta.on measures are costly • Climate change adapta.on needs to be considered as an on-‐going, cyclic process