Ostend

Demonstration pilot

With over 70,000 residents, Ostende is the largest city on the Belgian coast. Due to a large tourism industry, however, this figure inflates two to three times during the summer months.

The climate challenges facing Lisbon Metropolitan Region are primarily caused by its proximity to the Atlantic coast and dense urbanisation. To adapt to increasing climate risks, the region has adopted the Lisbon Metropolitan Climate Change Plan, and some municipalities have started to implement nature-based solutions.

However, implementing solutions in waterfront areas is complicated by increased economic activity and urban development pressure. To overcome this challenge, the Lisbon Climate Adaptation Lab will be testing and developing retreat and greening strategies to build climate resilience.

Lisbon Climate Adaptation Lab at a glance

Landscape

Climate challenges

Potential solutions and tools

Sectors involved

Urban waterfronts

Flash floods, heat waves, coastal erosion, sea level rise

Retreat strategies, greening strategies, GIS-based spatial modelling

Housing, tourism

Climate challenges facing Ostend

Like many coastal regions in Europe, the Lisbon Metropolitan Area is becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate risks such as:

Flash floods
Heat waves
Coastal erosion
Sea level rise

This is causing problems for both natural landscapes, where wetlands and marshes are degrading and local biodiversity is in decline, as well as for urban areas, where the urban heat island effect is worsening and densely populated waterfront communities are highly vulnerable to climate change.

As a result, to build climate resilience in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, there is a need for greater understanding of integrated water management, health effects of heatwaves and how to adapt coastal areas and estuary shores to sea level rise.

What are the potential climate adaptation solutions?

Existing climate adaptation strategies and interventions in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area have proven difficult to implement in urban waterfront areas, despite these being some of the most vulnerable areas to climate change.

Consequently, in the Lisbon Climate Adaptation Lab, adaptation solutions will focus specifically on urban waterfronts, with a strong emphasis on nature-based solutions. The solutions will be structured around two main categories - retreat strategies and greening strategies, although both are interlinked.