From Rimini to Pula, the cities of the Adriatic coast adapt to the changing climate: the ideas awarded by the CMCC

A parking lot turned into a promenade, a road roundabout in a water tank, fifteen kilometers of coast in a completely pedestrian sea park. are some of the results of Createacronym of Climate REsponses for the AdriaTic rEgion, a project of Italy and Croatia coordinated by Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change Foundation (CMCC) which finances and rewards, precisely, ideas, projects and solutions for a response of the Adriatic coasts to climate change.

In Venice, a jury of experts has just awarded the best initiative, presented by the city of Pula, in Croatia, with the award A3-Adaptation Awardestablished with the aim of giving visibility to better solutions for adaptation to climate change that were made in the Adriatic regions.

A “shield” against flooding

“The city of Pula“explained a Green&Blue Anja Ademi, chief strategy coordinator of the Croatian municipality, “has always had great problems with flooding due to floods” – which cannot fail to bring to mind the recent tragedy in Romagna – “mainly due to a very obsolete urban infrastructure and incapable of adequately drain the water”. Problems that have naturally become increasingly pressing due to the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, which is in turn connected to the ongoing climate change. “We therefore decided to participate in the Create project with two interventions to solve these problems, trying to combine the smallest possible environmental impact with the greatest efficiency”.

The experts then worked on a storm water management system based on the so-called raingardensor “rain gardens”, i.e. green areas capable of draining excess water and conveying it into a system of underground grids and pipes. “In this way”, explains Ademi, “we have transformed what until a few years ago was a constantly flooded car park into a promenade green and pedestrian, where residents can walk and carry out outdoor activities”. The same operation was completed along a fast-flowing road, also subject to periodic flooding and now integrated into a green area capable of draining the “The two areas have been completely transformed”, says the expert, “and the interventions have worked, in the sense that the flooding is just a memory”.

The seafront of Rimini gets a makeover

Among the speeches presented, there was also one concerning the city of Rimini. He tells us about it Silvia Capellitechnical officer of the infrastructure and environmental community sector of the municipality of Romagna: “Our project involves the construction of a Rimini of a sea ​​park along the 15 kilometers of Rimini coast. The northern part has already been completed, while for the southern part we are more or less halfway through the work, and we plan to complete it by 2026″. In particular, it is a redevelopment intervention of the waterfront Rimini area, which will gradually be transformed from a driveway into a completely pedestrian park. “We used new drainage materials, based on wood and concrete, planted trees, distributed fountains throughout the area, created fitness islands open all year round and inclusive play areas”, explains Capelli, “with the aim of refresh the seafront, to make it more usable and sustainable and to deseasonalize tourism”.

Dry walls and innovative flooring

Another of the projects presented looks to the future trying to recover something from the past: it is an idea of Mario ZaccariaCroatian archaeologist president of the “Aglio di Bersezio” association, who in the Istria-Quarnaro region is dedicating himself to the restoration of the agricultural landscape by reconstructing the ancient terraces hey dry stone walls: “In this way”, he explained to us, “it is possible to better contain the rains and fires and recover the typical biodiversity of the area”. In six years, he proudly tells us, he has (re)built over 30 thousand square meters of terraces, “working practically all day during the two years of lockdown”, and activated various workshops to teach the construction technique of dry stone walls. His ambition is to show that you can live with agriculture even if you don’t have huge spaces at your disposal: “In our area, it wouldn’t make sense to grow potatoes or cereals, because the terraces are very small: I decided to use them to cultivate those which I call ‘luxury vegetables’, such as garlic and kale, which are currently a very rare and sought-after commodity”.

And finally, the project of Cerviawhich provides for the reconstruction of Piazza dei Nobel Prizes, also threatened by flooding: “The intervention, which will be completed in July of this year”, he explains Margaretha Breilcoordinator of Create, “consists in the pose of a new pavement and draining green areas with trees. Cervia is a particularly delicate place, because it is subject to the problem of the salt wedge, or rather the ‘rising’ of the sea towards the hinterland through the subsoil: this intervention, and future ones, will serve to avoid flooding”.