Sustainable and Resilient Coastal Cities
Mean sea level rise (SLR) could increase by 1.5m-2.5m by 2100, which would see damage caused by coastal flooding in Europe increase from €1.25bn per annum currently to €961bn in just over 80 years (European Commission, 2018). Urban areas situated along the 2 Seas (NL, Belgium, France, UK) coastline are particularly vulnerable to extreme SLR (a combination of SLR, tide and storm surges). Coastal flood plans and policies focus predominantly on deploying traditional grey infrastructure/heavy engineering and ignore the use of nature-based solutions (NBS), despite the overwhelming evidence of their potential to reduce flood risk and provide multiple benefits. NBS are often not considered by policy-makers in detail due to the perceived risks around costs, potential for success, requirements for immediate protection/improvement and uncertainties regarding future change.
This project will focus on monitoring and evaluating a number of pilot Nature Based Solutions projects. What are the designs of these projects? What are their goals? Are they effective from a safety, ecology, and societal perspective? The Bankert Boulevard is an example of an NBS project part of this study but also some projects along the Belgian coast (e.g. Mariakerke sand nourishment) may be included.
Research type: Mostly desk analysis, field visits, potentially interviews/surveys
Research level: graduation bachelor thesis project or internship
Prerequisite: knowledge on nature based solutions (e.g. morphological processes, ecology).
Partners: Gemeente Vlissingen (focus), TU Delft, and potentially also some Belgian, French and UK councils and government departments