Improving flood risk resilience in urban environments by design
Flooding is a matter of substantial concern in Italy, because some human activities (such as land use, rapid urbanization and expanding exposure of assets at risk) and climate related issues contribute to an increase in the likelihood and adverse impacts of flood events. In particular, as the Italian cities increasingly come under threat from flooding, stakeholders are searching for ways to build resilience into the foundations of modern urban centers.
As part of a more flexible and holistic approach to flood risk, this proposal aims to:
- develop intelligent algorithms enabling early detection of rainfall/runoff thresholds triggering potential urban flood events and support communication to the public
- provide modelling frameworks for urban flood risk under the explicit consideration of uncertainty in an urban living lab context with all local actors
- analyze and assess different systems of flood resilience in urban environments corresponding to urban floods
- develop new integrative flood resilience systems as a "safety chain", and develop strategies for integration in existing flood defense systems and urban development
- provide a series of Best Practice Guidance based on the research outcomes to support decision makers in mitigation and adaptation actions.