Situated in East Anglia, Norfolk Broads (Broadland) is one of the finest areas of wetland in Britain. It includes both open water, the Broads themselves (a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes), and the low-lying marshland surrounding the tidal reaches of the Yare, Waveney, Bure rivers and their tributaries. These rivers reach the sea at Great Yarmouth.
The Hedwige-Prosper polders project is part of the Belgian Sigma Plan: this integrated plan is reinforcing dikes and quay walls and opening flood areas to protect land along the Scheldt Estuary and the upstream basin against floods. In this specific project, the outer defences of the Hertogin-Hedwige (hereinafter referred to as Hedwige) and the Prosper polders – low lying areas of reclaimed land are being removed, reopening these areas to the tides.
Stuttgart’s location in a valley basin, its mild climate, low wind speeds, industrial activity and high volume of traffic has made the city highly susceptible to poor air quality. Development on the valley slopes has prevented air from moving through the city, worsening air quality and contributing to the urban heat island effect. A Climate Atlas was developed for the Stuttgart region, presenting the distribution of temperature and cold air flows according to the city’s topography and land use.
The agriculture sector in Montpellier is highly vulnerable to higher temperature and more frequent droughts associated with projected climate change. To prepare for the effects of climate change it is important that agriculture in Montpellier takes appropriate adaptation measures. The agricultural systems based on monoculture are deemed to be more vulnerable compared to alternatives such as the cultivation of a mixture of crops and species, especially a mixture of trees and crops as in agroforestry.
The estuary of the Oka River is located within the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, on the coast of Biscay, Basque Country, north of Spain. It is an area of high ecological value. Its landscape has been transformed over the years by human activities, as it has been inhabited since Prehistoric times. The most important activities affecting the landscape of the estuary have been agriculture, cattle rising and a shipyard. While the first two have practically disappeared, the shipyard activity is still on-going, although with less intensity than in previous decades.
High temperatures and heatwaves in the summer pose increasing risks to people living in Slovakian cities. In particular older people and children, those living on top floors in poorly insulated buildings, and those relying on facilities such as nurseries, schools or care homes are prone to heat stress. The Carpathian Development Institute, in collaboration with local authorities in Trnava and Košice, carried out an assessment of vulnerability to high temperatures and heatwaves in residential environment, taking into account the social aspects.
Spessart is a highland area with a range of low wooded mountains, in the states of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the regions of Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The region has about 1.35 million overnight stays and over 13 million day visitors per year. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg at 586 metres. Hiking is a major tourist attraction in the Spessart in the summer. In winter skiing was a major attraction in particular as the ski lifts are close to large cities, such as Frankfurt, Würzburg Darmstadt and Mainz.
The Sand Motor is a ‘mega-nourishment’ implemented in the Delfland Coast (North Sea coast of South Holland, The Netherlands) as innovative pilot project to test the upscaling of regular sand nourishment along the Dutch coast, carried out by Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management Works). The regular program is aimed at preservation of the coastline and protection against flooding.
The municipality of Ober-Grafendorf is located at an elevation of 280 m in a typical pre-Alpine landscape in the Mostviertel region in the western part of the Austrian province Lower Austria. With 4,612 inhabitants on a municipal territory of 24.6 km2, Ober-Grafendorf has a population size only slightly above the statistical average of Austrian municipalities, and it is among the 98% of Austrian municipalities with less than 20.000 inhabitants.
The Green Urban Infrastructure Strategy was launched by the City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2012. Its main objectives are the regeneration of degraded areas through eco-design techniques, the enhancement of urban biodiversity, the improvement of connectivity and functionality of different urban and periurban green areas, the promotion of public use of green space and the improvement of adaptation capacity to climate change, as in particular more severe and frequent heatwaves.