Urban areas are more vulnerable to climate change than rural areas. Namely, the unnatural built environment is enhancing the impact of a changed meteorological forcing, especially as far as  stormwater management and water supply systems are concerned. On the other hand the population of cities is globally expected to increase, as is the soil consumption. Ecosystem services provided by urban soils have an unvaluable role in adaptation practices and need to be protected by raising awareness in citizens and engaging them in monitoring the urban environment. Nevertheless best practices shared at the international level need to be discussed also with Public Authorities and  Enterprises, besides Universities and Citizens (the quadruple helix model of innovation).

This research project is addressing how cities can cope with climate change, by mitigating the effects on the water issues in the short term and by improving their capacity to effectively respond on the mid- term.

Research activities are expected to be framed in an interdisciplinary setting, including urban hydraulics, urban planning and community-based participatory approach. Early warning systems and their potential implementation will be considered with reference to at least 2 case studies featuring different socio-economic context. Adaptation strategies based on these tools will be co-developed by the communities of practices set up for each case study to support an efficient sustainable management of urban areas.

‍

Knowledge of GIS, hydrology and hydraulic models, interest and some experience in community-based participatory research

For this scholarship it is mandatory a period of research abroad of 6 months.

‍

The PhD candidate will be supervised by Giovanna Grossi and supported by colleagues in the same department

‍