The academic course targets to examine the way Climate Change affects current social, economic and environmental dimensions of urban and rural territories, and the way the concept of resilience moves in to the core of contemporary urban and regional planning. Theoretical issues on Climate Change mitigation and adaptation are examined, along with risk assessment and vulnerability in face of natural disasters, Moreover, social impacts of the climate crisis are discussed, while the legislative framework at the European and national level is considered. The academic course will help the students create diverse skills and techniques on the applied aspects of climate change adaptation through specific projects and case studies by utilizing spatial analysis and geospatial data. The ultimate target is to enrich creative thinking through participatory educational methods and procedures.

Thematic fields covered:

• Climate Change: Basic concepts and dimensions
• Social impacts of climate change and the issue of Climate Justice
• Resilience, vulnerability and response to natural disasters: Theory and best practices
• Land cover and Land use changes, under the effect of Climate Change
• Adaptation of cities to Climate Change
• Urban Sprawl and Climate Change: Parameters of the issue in the Greek spatial planning system
• Climate Change and Spatial Resilience in the coastal territories
• Energy transition, Renewable energy sources and spatial planning resolutions
• Nature Restoration, Nature-based solutions and the theory of Regenerative Planning.
• European and national policies for mitigation and adaptation to Climate Change
• Platforms/Portals of climatic geodata and their use into spatial planning

The course is conducted through oral presentations and free-form discussions on current issues, relevant to the research topics handled by the thematic fields. Also, it includes participatory tasks with the use of computers to support the projects, conducted by students (2 member-teams) on specifically targeted case study areas. Part of the research project is conducted inside the class, by an interplay between the instructor and the students. Accomplishment of the course necessitates active participation, completion of the project and successful presentation (oral examination) during the exams.

• Καρτάλης K., Κοκκώσης X., Οικονόμου Δ., Σανταμούρης Μ., Αγαθαγγελίδης Η., Πολύδωρος Α. (2017) Οι Επιπτώσεις της Κλιματικής Αλλαγής στην Ανάπτυξη, ΔΙΑΝΕΟΣΙΣ, Οργανισμός Έρευνας & Ανάλυσης
• IPCC, 2019: Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, E. Calvo Buendia, V. Masson-Delmotte, H.-O. Pörtner, D. C. Roberts, P. Zhai, R. Slade, S. Connors, R. van Diemen, M. Ferrat, E. Haughey, S. Luz, S. Neogi, M. Pathak, J. Petzold, J. Portugal Pereira, P. Vyas, E. Huntley, K. Kissick, M. Belkacemi, J. Malley, (eds.)]. In press.
• Lagarias, A. (2023). Impervious Land Expansion as a Control Parameter for Climate-Resilient Planning on the Mediterranean Coast: Evidence from Greece. Land, 12(10), 1844.
• Aguiar, F. C., Bentz, J., Silva, J. M., Fonseca, A. L., Swart, R., Santos, F. D., & Penha-Lopes, G. (2018). Adaptation to climate change at local level in Europe: An overview. Environmental Science & Policy, 86, 38-63.
• Kabisch Ν., Stadler Η.Κ., Bonn Α. (Eds) (2017) Nature‐based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas Linkages between Science, Policy and Practice, Springer
• Wainwright J., Mann G. (2018) Climate Leviathan: A Political Theory of Our Planetary Future, Sage Publications
• Prasad N., Ranghieri F., Shah F., Trohanis Z., Kessler E., Sinh R. (2009) Climate Resilient Cities A Primer on Reducing Vulnerabilities to Disasters, THE WORLD BANK, Washington, D.C.