Climate adaptation by design: Research on peri-urban Brussels.

As global warming becomes partly inevitable, all regions must adapt to climate change. Local vulnerability can be reduced through spatial interventions. Especially in peri-urban areas, consisting of both urban and rural components, there is a need for spatial strategies because urban sprawl alters local vulnerability to climate change at high rate. Urban components (e.g. housing, industry and infrastructure) spread out, blurring the former clear-cut division between urban and rural areas. In addition, rural components transform considerably. Farmers intensify, specialize and/or enlarge their scale in order to compete with the current global food production. Meanwhile agricultural land is reallocated for nature and recreational use. So planners and designers are confronted with a new kind of task; the need to conceive climate adaptive layouts (a new goal) for the peri-urban areas (a new territory).

In a first step the research explores the scale of climate adaptation; if we want to adapt to through space, what is in fact an area with similar challenges in light of climate adaptation? The research will unravel the scale problem by exploring a case study, the peri-urban fringe of Brussels, through research by design. The study will provide insight on the role cultural landscapes may play in defining local climate adaptation challenges. The map of Traditional Landscapes is used as a starting point to explore local vulnerability. First, climate impacts maps are compared with this map. Secondly, the effects of urban sprawl on the potential losses and adaptive capacity are investigated. The research on the peri-urban fringe of Brussels will define focus areas for detailed research by design. Furthermore, the insights will be uses to discuss the potentials and weaknesses of cultural landscapes, and the map of Traditional Landscapes in particular, as a basis for designing for climate adaptation in peri-urban areas.