Global climate is changing and when compared with their surrounding regions, urban areas are considered to be particularly vulnerable to these changes. This is due to the high concentrations of population, infrastructure, and economic activities located in these areas, the exacerbation of climate impacts by urban-scale phenomena, and dependency on surrounding regions for service provision. In response to these challenges, and employing the Greater Dublin as a case study example, the proposed research will develop an innovative regional approach that will allow for the integrated assessment and management of current and future climate vulnerabilities within the context of existing climate and non-climate pressures and spatial planning practices. This will be achieved through the development of a bespoke vulnerability assessment that combines top-down and bottom-up approaches to climate impact assessment. Working in close collaboration with the key stakeholder groups (Local/Regional Authorities and National Government), this approach will be employed to assess the direct and indirect effects of climate impacts and vulnerabilities at local, regional and national scales. From this flexible and robust risk management strategies will be developed that are grounded in the context of current and future spatial planning strategies and reference current and future non-climatic pressures (environmental, social, and economic).
