Rome faces severe climatic impacts related to its heat island, whose negative effects are intensified by high traffic density. Moreover, heavy precipitations can cause frequent flooding and exert strong pressure on the system of its critical infrastructures. Its complex urban fabric seems to be particularly sensitive and vulnerable to climate change. Rising temperatures and altered precipitation regimes can exacerbate the negative interactions between the urban heat island and pollution, heat waves and very local convective precipitation phenomena.
On the other hand, the level of risk to critical infrastructures can rise significantly due to the increased frequency and intensity of extreme events. A major issue introducing further complexity is the fragility of the territory and the presence of the largest Cultural Heritage in the world: these facts act as constraints which reduce the possibility of providing breakthrough solutions to Rome’s problems. In particular, existing historical and architectural settings demand specific attention to their conservation. Complex problems magnified by complex constraints provide an extraordinary test bench for new ideas on mitigation and adaptation policies against climate change.
The key objective of Climathon Rome is finding new ideas for coping with climate change-enhanced impacts. It addresses the mitigation of the heat island, pollution reduction (mostly that induced by vehicular traffic), the protection from flash floods impacting on the system of critical infrastructure. Ideas for novel solutions will be solicited from citizens, particularly young people, from the research and the academic communities, and from the industrial sector.
Entrepreneurial action will be stimulated to drive and support innovation and policy design, and responsible citizenship promoted to make change happen.
Contributions should address (but not be limited to) the following questions:
