Integrating transitions in climate-adaptive design.

The struggle of Mediterranean territories to adapt to the several ongoing crises (environmental, energetic, climatic and economic) goes in parallel with the urge to proactively answer the UN’s claim for social, ecological and energy sustainability. Moreover, the global push to decarbonisation and the objective to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 are strongly interconnected with climate change, also in terms of opportunities. Climatological projections show that, in the future, climate-induced phenomena such as sea level rise, storm surge and medicanes will deeply impact urban settlements along the Mediterranean coastlines. From Venice, Italy to Derna, Libya (2023) and Crete, Greece (2020) flooding phenomena are increasing in frequency and magnitude, impacting also on infrastructures, ecological and cultural assets, buildings and public health. How could we adapt to these changing conditions through a design approach? In this regard, the chapter aims to explore how it is possible to tackle the urgent problem of climate change adaptation by integrating energy, ecological and just transition at the neighbourhood scale. In this frame, and with the support of two European-funded researches, we explore design possibilities that can promote good design practices for the Mediterranean cities, in order to provide methodological-operational approaches and design tools to support a complex and inter-scalar perspective of resilient adaptive solutions for urban environments. The chapter also aims to introduce and discuss some methodological results elaborated through the first version of the Framework for Climate-adaptive Green Spaces, a tool to describe, understand and analyse nature-based solutions and their impact on climate-adaptive green urban regeneration projects for green and blue infrastructure. In conclusion, the chapter wants to highlight the importance of a global-oriented vision on the most common transitions of our time, by looking at ways to implement spatial transformation for a more resilient, carbon-neutral and climate-proof society.

in Sayigh, A., Trombadore, A., Calcagno, C. (2025), Getting to Zero - Beyond Energy Transition Towards Carbon-Neutral Mediterranean Cities. Selected Papers from the World Renewable Energy Congress Med Green Forum 2024, Springer Cham, pp.109-126. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-82323-7_9