CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION MEASURES FOR ITALIAN COASTAL CITIES

Coastal cities are very vulnerable to climate change and naturalhazards. The risks caused by climate change have quadrupled in the past 30 years, causing both human and economic losses (UNISDR, 2012). These risks are also known as natural hazards and are generally attributable to extreme weather events such as: storm intensity, urban heat island, drought and flooding as well as sea level rise and coastal erosion (IPCC, 2007a).
These threats have consequences and impacts on lives and livelihoods of coastal cities communities, on theirinfrastructures, economy and governments. Thus, to avoidemergences and disaster situations it is important to rethink and transform coastal cities in “coastal resilient cities”, through a comprehensive and site-specific strategy for urban development in a climate changes adaptation perspective.
In that framework, the research is part of the more broadestresearch field studying the climate change impacts on coastalcities, considering the relation between the specificcharacteristics of such cities (physics, social and economic), itsurban form/design, and especially their ability to adapt to climate change. The research’s focus will be on the Italiancoastal cities and the NAS (National Adaption Strategy) thatencourages a "flexible" and "downscaling" approach,recognizing at the Italian Coastal Cities further critical issues in the implementation of adaptation measures (green&blueinfrastructure, green roofs, new materials, etc.), namely the small, historical, and touristic dimension, which needs to be protected. The main objective will be to propose, in line with the NAS, guidelines that through an integrated and participativedecisionmaking model, will be able to orient the policy processtowards a coherent planning/design. Moreover, it will create a European network of universities, local authorities and businesses to work together on this issue.