Adaptive Frameworks: Resilient Strategies in Water-Dominated Landscapes

Larsen, Celine Janne ; Stoeva, Tsveta Atanasova

4. term

Urban Design, Master

2025

2025-05-17

This master thesis explores how to design and plan for flooding caused by sea level rise and climate change. With a focus on improving current design practices for flood protection and implementing a phase-based approach, the thesis presents how a series of local interventions can work in tandem at a larger scale to improve the level of protection and efficacy. The project revolves around the Limfjord, located in the Northern part of Denmark, which is a large hydrological system spanning from the Western Sea to the Kattegat Sea. Due to its large size and the complexity of designing for such an area, a multiscalar approach is introduced. By analysing the entire system and the local areas of intervention, the multiscalar approach acts as a bridge between the strategic knowledge gained form the large-scale analysis and the designs which are adapted for the local landscape. The development plan illustrates how protective interventions can be implemented at critical areas along the Limfjord system to ensure important landscapes and communities, while allowing flooding in selected areas to mitigate flooding further along the system. By aligning with the three pillars of sustainability and certain eco-urbanism principles, the design will also support the ecosystem while providing new opportunities for income and for building resilient communities. While the proposed design is adapted for the Limfjord system, the thesis also includes a toolkit of strategies and interventions. The toolkit is to be used by stakeholders, lawmakers, and planners in order to ease the process of planning and designing for flood protection in other large-scale projects. Likewise, the thesis uses the categories - strategic, environmental, social, and economic - to better select which areas are beneficial to protect and where flooding can be advantageous. These categories and the adjacent methodology are also proposed as a tool to be used in other similar projects, intended to facilitate the decision-making processes and the stakeholder's work.

flooding ; climate change ; strategic planning ; multiscalar collaboration ; resilient future

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