Assessing the contribution of climate change adaptation measures to build resilience in urban areas. Application to Lisbon.

Abstract

"Urban areas are dynamic, complex and vulnerable systems involving multiple strategic urban services such as water supply, wastewater, stormwater and waste management, energy supply, public lighting, transport, public security and stakeholders. Climate stresses and shocks affecting the urban water cycle, such as heavy rains, tide effect or droughts, can produce direct impacts on the above strategic services and cause cascading impacts on them with serious consequences for people, natural and built environment and economy. Challenges generated by climate change in urban areas, expected until 2100, require an integrated and sustainable approach to increase resilience. The paper presents a resilience assessment approach applied to Lisbon. It aims to assess resilience considering a multisectorial approach with focus on water and to support cities to become more resilient contributing to co-build their resilience action plans. The assessment approach is objective driven considering four resilience dimensions: organizational, governance relations top/down; spatial, urban space and environment; functional directed to strategic services and physical to assets/infrastructures."