Mapping Urban Resilience for Spatial Planning—A First Attempt to Measure the Vulnerability of the System

Identifying the Importance of Disaster Resilience Dimensions across Different Countries Using the Delphi Method

The article proposes a framework establishing a disaster resilience index applicable worldwide that accounts for differences between countries in terms of development and in terms of the relevance of several resilience dimensions. To achieve this index, countries were clustered using an indicator that reflected their performance according to the Sustainable Development Goals. For each cluster of countries, a Delphi process was used to obtain scores for every resilience dimension and sub-dimension that were then transformed into weights that varied from cluster to cluster to reflect differences in sustainable development. The article discusses the methodology that led to the quantification of the weights according to the Delphi process, as well as its results. The results highlighted the anticipated differences between different groups of countries, but also reflected cluster-specific features that should be accounted for when analyzing disaster resilience. The article also discusses different applications and possible improvements of the proposed framework based on comments collected during the Delphi process.

Socio-Economic Resilience of Poland’s Lignite Regions

The article is seeking to analyse the coal transition in three Polish lignite regions as part of the scientific discussion on a just transition, which is a big challenge, especially in the regions and countries dependent on their own coal deposits as the main source of energy. Polish lignite mines are now entering the phase-out of coal, which results from implementing the assumptions of the Green Deal and the Paris climate agreement. The article answers the following question: what is the socio-economic resilience of coal regions in the context of the projected closure of mines in the coming years? The empirical analyses are based on secondary statistical data. The analysis and comparison of basic statistical data, i.e., the level of employment and lignite extraction in three lignite regions in the period from the end of the Second World War to 2017, allowed the authors to determine the phases of the adaptive cycle in which the individual regions are. In the second part of the study, the indicator evaluation method was used in order to calculate the Socio-Economic Resilience Index for individual areas (poviats) included in the coal regions, which made it possible to assess the current resilience and its intra-regional differentiation. The obtained results, which indicate that the regions under analysis are in different phases of the adaptive cycle and reveal their territorial heterogeneity, allow us to assume that the possibilities of a just energy transition of regions depend on the diversity of local conditions and resources, emphasising at the same time the territorial dimension of the issue of the energy transition.

Designing Urban Green Infrastructures Using Open-Source Data—An Example in Çiğli, Izmir (Turkey)

The city of Izmir (Turkey) has experienced one of the most rapid and fastest urbanization processes in the last thirty years; more than 33 thousand hectares of agricultural and seminatural land have been transformed into urban areas, leading to a drastic reduction of biodiversity and hard deployments of the ecosystem service supply. In this perspective, the potential definition of methodologies to design multifunctional green infrastructures is extremely important to challenge the effects of climate change. The aim of this study is to propose an easy and replicable methodology to design a Green Infrastructure at the neighbourhood level in one of the most important districts of Izmir: Çiğli. To this end, we combined historical land-use change analysis (based on Urban Atlas, Copernicus Land Monitoring Service) with environmental and ecosystem mapping in a Geographic Information System environment (ESRI ArcMap 10.8.1) while creating a composite layer based on unweighted overlays of Imperviousness, Tree Cover Density, and Habitat Quality. Results were used to design the Green Infrastructure of Çiğli and suggest context-based strategies for urban adaptation, including Nature-Based Solutions for core, edge, and urban links.

Designing with Ecosystem Modelling: The Sponge District Application in İzmir, Turkey

Climate change is threatening coastal cities affected by multiple hazards worldwide. Due to the increase in extreme weather events and the low capacity of cities to adapt to these odds, losses, exposure, and fatalities arise with the occurred events. Besides, traditional hazard mapping and risk planning techniques often fall behind when facing a climate crisis since extreme changes in quantity, frequency, and distribution of meteorological phenomena are observed. Specific and localized flood vulnerability mitigation strategies need to be developed, particularly for settlements on coastal and sloppy areas with a high risk of stream accumulation during rainfall days. This paper uses the urban flood risk mitigation of Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) generated within the Natural Capital Project to determine İzmir’s cloudburst vulnerability level. The city has experienced several cloudbursts in the last couple of months which inundated densely populated areas. The soil’s hydrologic conductibility and the land use/land cover (LULC) map were required as main inputs. The LULC map was produced on the basis of surface imperviousness. The model calculates the run-off volume and how much is retained by soil and vegetation. Outputs were used to concretely apply the sponge district concept while designing performance-based ecosystem solutions. In the light of the findings, the new performance-based design demonstrated how digital ecosystem modelling could support the urban design decision-making process.

Land Suitability Analysis for Vineyard Cultivation in the Izmir Metropolitan Area

The grapevine, so-called Vitis vinifera L., is one of the most diffuse perennial crop plantations in the world due to a flourishing market that shaped the landscape and the societal values. Turkey has been a historical vine producer, counting on an overall vineyard extension of 550,000 hectares. Besides, Turkey has some favorable pre-requisites to be one of the most fertile lands for vineyard production: variegated topography, rich soil diversity, heterogeneous morphology, and several micro-climatic conditions. However, establishing a flourishing and fully productive vineyard requires many years, and therefore, the selection and management of sites should be considered with great attention. Within this work, a first land suitability analysis for vineyard production has been established for the entire metropolitan area of Izmir according to the most scientifically-agreed criteria: elevation, slope, aspect, land capability, and solar radiation. These criteria were superimposed through spatial overlay analysis using Esri ArcGIS (ver.10.8) and evaluated using the Principal Component Analysis technique. The first three bands were then extracted to define the most suitable areas for vineyard production in Izmir. The final layer has been used to define which areas can be considered for future strategic expansion and management. The discussion focuses on the Kozak plateau, where a new policy of vineyard plantation will be promoted with techniques that aim to maintain and revalorize the traditional vineyard landscapes and conserve traditional methods and practices that have evolved with the cultural values of the villagers and producers.

Nationwide Evaluation of Urban Energy System Resilience in China Using a Comprehensive Index Method

The carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals for China signify a critical time of energy transition in which energy resilience is a vital issue. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of urban energy system resilience (UESR) is important for establishing a theoretical foundation. To this end, in this paper, 309 Chinese cities were evaluated using a comprehensive UESR assessment framework composed of 113 indices that measured vulnerability and capabilities of resistance and restoration. The results showed that China’s UESR is distributed unevenly and that cities in the eastern region generally have higher resilience than those in other regions. The minimum and maximum UESR results corresponded to Tibet and Shandong, respectively, at the provincial level and Rikaze and Weifang, respectively, at the city level. Regression analysis showed a positive correlation among UESR, carbon dioxide emissions, and GDP.

Research Progress of Urban Floods under Climate Change and Urbanization: A Scientometric Analysis

Urban floods research has been attracting extensive attention with the increasing threat of flood risk and environmental hazards due to global climate change and urbanization. However, there is rarely a comprehensive review of this field and it remains unclear how the research topics on urban floods have evolved. In this study, we analyzed the development of urban floods research and explored the hotspots and frontiers of this field by scientific knowledge mapping. In total, 3314 published articles from 2006 to 2021 were analyzed. The results suggest that the number of published articles in the field of urban floods generally has an upward trend year by year, and the research focus has shifted from exploring hydrological processes to adopting advanced management measures to solve urban flood problems. Moreover, urban stormwater management and low impact development in the context of climate change and urbanization have gradually become research hotspots. Future research directions based on the status and trends of the urban floods field were also discussed. This research can not only inspire other researchers and policymakers, but also demonstrates the effectiveness of scientific knowledge mapping analysis by the use of the software CiteSpace and VOSviewer.

A Long-Term Ecological Vulnerability Analysis of the Tibetan Region of Natural Conditions and Ecological Protection Programs

The combined impacts of drastic natural environment change and increasing human interference are making the uncertainty of the Tibetan Plateau’s ecological vulnerability the world’s largest. In this study, an ecological vulnerability index (EVI) of Tibet in the core area of the Tibetan Plateau was assessed using a selected set of ecological, social, and economic indicators and using a spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) to calculate their weights. The data included Landsat images and socio-economic data from 1990 to 2015 in five-year intervals. The results showed that the total EVI remained at a high vulnerability level, with drastic fluctuation from 1990 to 2000 (a peak in 1995, when there was a sudden increase in light vulnerability, which moved to extreme vulnerability in the next period), and minor fluctuations after 2000, gradually increasing from southeast to northwest. In addition, the spatial analysis showed a distinct positive correlation between the EVI and grassland area (0.33), land use degree (0.15), NDVI (0.14), livestock husbandry output, and a negative correlation in terms of desertification area. The artificial afforestation program (AAP) had a positive significant correlation with NDVI (R2 = 0.88), preventing the environment from becoming more vulnerable. The results provide practical information and suggestions for planners to improve the land use degree in urban areas and the vegetation coverage in pastoral regions of the Tibetan Plateau based on the spatial–temporal heterogeneity patterns of the EVI of Tibet.

Retail Policies and Urban Change in Naples City Center: Challenges to Resilience and Sustainability from a Mediterranean City

Political discourses, public discussions, and studies in different fields have increasingly focused on the vulnerabilities affecting cities and on the possible responses to them, which are often traced back to urban resilience and sustainability. Research and debates in the field of retailing and consumption geographies are no exception. To carry out a critical analysis on the retail policies associated with the urban commercial change of the Naples city center, the case study is placed in the context of the literature review focusing on three concepts: spatial vulnerability, adaptive resilience, and territorialized sustainability. The analysis is conducted combining data, policy, and planning documents with long-term field research. The changing relationship between consumption practices, retail dynamics, and policies highlights a sort of hybridization of commercial and consumption central cityscapes, which is produced by the coexistence between retail-led phenomena of regeneration and forms of local resistance. The results of the research highlight, from a Mediterranean perspective, new general insights on the impact of selective forms of vulnerability and on the adaptive resilience strategies adopted, but most of all on the indispensable rethinking of the urban retail governance for the enhancement of urban livability, social cohesion, and locally sustainable lifestyles, activities, and places.

An Unmanned Lighter-Than-Air Platform for Large Scale Land Monitoring

The concept and preliminary design of an unmanned lighter-than-air (LTA) platform instrumented with different remote sensing technologies is presented. The aim is to assess the feasibility of using a remotely controlled airship for the land monitoring of medium sized (up to 107 m2) urban or rural areas at relatively low altitudes (below 1000 m) and its potential convenience with respect to other standard remote and in-situ sensing systems. The proposal includes equipment for high-definition visual, thermal, and hyperspectral imaging as well as LiDAR scanning. The data collected from these different sources can be then combined to obtain geo-referenced products such as land use land cover (LULC), soil water content (SWC), land surface temperature (LSC), and leaf area index (LAI) maps, among others. The potential uses for diffuse structural health monitoring over built-up areas are discussed as well. Several mission typologies are considered.

Performance-Based Planning to Reduce Flooding Vulnerability Insights from the Case of Turin (North-West Italy)

Climate change impacts urban areas with greater frequency and exposes continental cities located on floodplains to extreme cloudbursts events. This scenario requires developing specific flooding vulnerability mitigation strategies that improve local knowledge of flood-prone areas at the urban scale and supersede the traditional hazard approach based on the classification of riverine buffers. Moreover, decision-makers need to adopt performance-based strategies for contrasting climate changes and increasing the resilience of the system. This research develops the recent Flooding Risk Mitigation model of InVEST (Integrated Evaluation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-off), where cloudburst vulnerability results from the soil’s hydrological conductivity. It is based on the assumption that during cloudburst events, all saturated soils have the potential for flooding, regardless of the distance to rivers or channels, causing damage and, in the worst cases, victims. The model’s output gives the run-off retention index evaluated in the catchment area of Turin (Italy) and its neighborhoods. We evaluated the outcome to gain specific insight into potential land use adaptation strategies. The index is the first experimental biophysical assessment developed in this area, and it could prove useful in the revision process of the general town plan underway.

Bridging the Gap: The Measure of Urban Resilience

The concept of resilience has arisen as a “new way of thinking” [...]

Nature-Based Solutions for Water Management in Peri-Urban Areas: Barriers and Lessons Learned from Implementation Experiences

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are defined by the European Commission as “actions that are inspired by, supported by, or copied from nature…” and that solve societal challenges and multiple benefits. As a result, NBS are often promoted as alternative responses that solve complex societal challenges such as watershed management, while delivering a systemic approach of multiple benefits for well-being, human health, and sustainable use of resources. Despite rising interest in NBS, further identification of experiences implementing NBS could advance our understanding of the operationalization of this comprehensive concept. For this purpose, we analyzed 35 peer-reviewed articles on implementation experiences of NBS for water management in peri-urban areas, on aspects related to (i) NBS problem–solution: water challenges, ecosystem services, scales, and types; (ii) NBS governance and management. From the insights of the analysis, this paper asks what lessons are learned, and which barriers are identified, from implementing NBS for water management in peri-urban areas? As a result, this study presents a detailed analysis of each aspect. We conclude by highlighting accountancy, monitoring, and communication as potential success factors for integration and development while diminishing the overall barrier of complexity, which leads to technical, institutional, economic, and social uncertainty.

Energy Consumption Models at Urban Scale to Measure Energy Resilience

Energy resilience can be reached with a secure, sustainable, competitive, and affordable system. In order to achieve energy resilience in the urban environment, urban-scale energy models play a key role in supporting the promotion and identification of effective energy-efficient and low-carbon policies pertaining to buildings. In this work, a dynamic urban-scale energy model, based on an energy balance, has been designed to take into account the local climate conditions and morphological urban-scale parameters. The aim is to present an engineering methodology, applied to clusters of buildings, using the available urban databases. This methodology has been calibrated and optimized through an iterative procedure on 102 residential buildings in a district of the city of Turin (Italy). The results of this work show how a place-based dynamic energy balance methodology can also be sufficiently accurate at an urban scale with an average seasonal relative error of 14%. In particular, to achieve this accuracy, the model has been optimized by correcting the typological and geometrical characteristics of the buildings and the typologies of ventilation and heating system; in addition, the indoor temperatures of the buildings—that were initially estimated as constant—have been correlated to the climatic variables. The proposed model can be applied to other cities utilizing the existing databases or, being an engineering model, can be used to assess the impact of climate change or other scenarios.

Mainstreaming Energetic Resilience by Morphological Assessment in Ordinary Land Use Planning. The Case Study of Moncalieri, Turin (Italy)

Energetic resilience is seen as one of the most prominent fields of investigation in the upcoming years. The increasing efficiency of urban systems depends on the conversion of energetic production of buildings, and therefore, from the capacity of urban systems to be more rational in the use of renewable resources. Nevertheless, the integration of the energetic regulation into the ordinary urban planning documents is far from being reached in most of planning processes. In Italy, mainstreaming energetic resilience in ordinary land use planning appears particularly challenging, even in those Local Administrations that tried to implement the national legislation into Local Building Regulation. In this work, an empirical methodology to provide an overall assessment of the solar production capacity has been applied to selected indicators of urban morphology among the different land use parcel-zones, while implementing a geographic information system-based approach to the city of Moncalieri, Turin (Italy). Results demonstrate that, without exception, the current minimum energy levels required by law are generally much lower than the effective potential solar energy production that each land use parcel-zone could effectively produce. We concluded that local planning processes should update their land use plans to reach environmental sustainability targets, while at the same time the energetic resilience should be mainstreamed in urban planning by an in-depth analysis of the effective morphological constraints. These aspects may also represent a contribution to the international debates on energetic resilience and on the progressive inclusion of energy subjects in the land use planning process.

How Can Climate Resilience Be Measured and Visualized? Assessing a Vague Concept Using GIS-Based Fuzzy Logic

As negative impacts of climate change tend to increase in the future, densely-populated cities especially need to take action on being robust against natural hazards. Consequently, there is a growing interest from scientists in measuring the climate resilience of cities and regions. However, current measurements are usually assessed on administrative levels, not covering potential hotspots of hazardous or sensitive areas. The main aim of this paper focusses on the measurement of climate resilience in the City of Dortmund, Germany, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Based on a literature review, we identified five essential components of climate resilience and initially designed a theoretical framework of 18 indicators. Since climate resilience is still a vague concept in scientific discourses, we implemented local expert knowledge and fuzzy logic modelling into our analysis. The benefit of this study not only lies in the fine-scale application, but also in the relevance for multiple disciplines by integrating social and ecological factors. We conclude that climate resilience varies within the city pattern, with the urban core tending to be less resilient than its surrounding districts. As almost the entire geodata set used is freely available, the presented indicators and methods are to a certain degree applicable to comparable cities.