The study of Climate Change, applied to the Mediterranean urban scale, stresses several questions about how to adapt ‘old towns’ to the ‘new climate’. On another hand, Climate Change is also forecasted to affect the sea-level, which rise is menacing important urban areas (such as New York or the Flamish Delta region) and, even though at a lower level of risk, Mediterranean important urban heritages like the cities of Venice or Istanbul. Although the difficulties of downscaling, climate scenarios show that Mediterranean areas will be affected on the one hand by thermal waves and, on another, by torrential patterns of rain, concentrating the total amount in a short time, that can cause difficulties in urban life, especially in coastal areas, mainly due to the draining systems. This asks for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems and for a more efficient management of the water cycle, also rethinking the role of urban spaces. Portugal is considered Mediterranean, at least under the climate point of view, despite its coasts are almost Atlantic and, consequently, more exposed to the sea-level rise. Lisbon is not exactly along a sea shoreline, but on the estuary of Tagus river, which would be probably affected by Climate Change effects because of run-off and, mainly, due to the forecasted rising sea-level. Rethinking and redesigning its relationship with water, trying to make this urban area more resilient, becomes crucial: it asks to study run-off and sea-level rise forecasted for 2100 and for intermediate steps, and to adapt the urban life and its spaces to the occurring scenarios. This work deals with the Frente Ribeirinha in South-West Lisbon, setting the objectives for its adaptation to flooding risks: ‘from above’ (rainfalls and consequent run-off) and ‘from below’ (sea-level rise), proposing a set of actions which can be combined according to different strategies. The developed strategy proposals illustrate three different scenarios of how the whole area could be adapted, depending on the choices related to heritage protection, traffic management, run-off calming. These scenarios propose to transform the South-Western Lisbon waterfront working differently: one more with nature-based solutions, and the other two changing more radically the coast line, designing islands or bays (one could be consequent to the other) that establish priorities, ‘securing’ some urban nodal areas and ‘sacrificing’ some others. The first scenario is more related to planning choices regarding land-use, while the others are more related to design and infrastructural choices.

New features of the rivershore: Climate Change and new relations between town and water / Casu, Alessandra. - (2020), pp. 174-182.

New features of the rivershore: Climate Change and new relations between town and water

Casu Alessandra
Writing – Review & Editing
2020-01-01

Abstract

The study of Climate Change, applied to the Mediterranean urban scale, stresses several questions about how to adapt ‘old towns’ to the ‘new climate’. On another hand, Climate Change is also forecasted to affect the sea-level, which rise is menacing important urban areas (such as New York or the Flamish Delta region) and, even though at a lower level of risk, Mediterranean important urban heritages like the cities of Venice or Istanbul. Although the difficulties of downscaling, climate scenarios show that Mediterranean areas will be affected on the one hand by thermal waves and, on another, by torrential patterns of rain, concentrating the total amount in a short time, that can cause difficulties in urban life, especially in coastal areas, mainly due to the draining systems. This asks for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems and for a more efficient management of the water cycle, also rethinking the role of urban spaces. Portugal is considered Mediterranean, at least under the climate point of view, despite its coasts are almost Atlantic and, consequently, more exposed to the sea-level rise. Lisbon is not exactly along a sea shoreline, but on the estuary of Tagus river, which would be probably affected by Climate Change effects because of run-off and, mainly, due to the forecasted rising sea-level. Rethinking and redesigning its relationship with water, trying to make this urban area more resilient, becomes crucial: it asks to study run-off and sea-level rise forecasted for 2100 and for intermediate steps, and to adapt the urban life and its spaces to the occurring scenarios. This work deals with the Frente Ribeirinha in South-West Lisbon, setting the objectives for its adaptation to flooding risks: ‘from above’ (rainfalls and consequent run-off) and ‘from below’ (sea-level rise), proposing a set of actions which can be combined according to different strategies. The developed strategy proposals illustrate three different scenarios of how the whole area could be adapted, depending on the choices related to heritage protection, traffic management, run-off calming. These scenarios propose to transform the South-Western Lisbon waterfront working differently: one more with nature-based solutions, and the other two changing more radically the coast line, designing islands or bays (one could be consequent to the other) that establish priorities, ‘securing’ some urban nodal areas and ‘sacrificing’ some others. The first scenario is more related to planning choices regarding land-use, while the others are more related to design and infrastructural choices.
2020
978-88-5518-147-1
New features of the rivershore: Climate Change and new relations between town and water / Casu, Alessandra. - (2020), pp. 174-182.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11388/240774
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