European cities, towns and suburbs are expanding at an exponential rate. The high concentration of infrastructure, businesses and cultural heritage in urban areas means there is high potential for significant losses and impact when natural disasters strike. At the same time, the growth of urban populations is producing greater concentrations of people vulnerable to natural disasters.
Urbanisation can bring people and assets closer to hazards, and trigger or aggravate various natural disaster risks or seriously affect the environment, including:
While the urban population in Europe is increasing, the built-up area is expanding faster.
This is a major concern, as continuous development and urbanisation can bring people and assets closer to hazards, and trigger or aggravate various natural disaster risk drivers. These include:
Heatwaves are among the most deadly natural disasters, and have led to electricity blackouts, disruptions in public transport, and the temporary shutdown of nuclear reactors.
Urbanisation can exacerbate the effects of heatwaves, as their impact is magnified by the urban heat island effect – a phenomenon where urban settings experience higher temperatures than their rural surroundings. This occurs because asphalt and concrete absorb and re-radiate heat much more effectively than the natural environment. City traffic, air-conditioning and industrial activities further increase temperatures by generating and emitting heat. Due to city geometry and the limited availability of open green and blue zones, this heat is trapped in urban canyons between tall buildings. Building density and the size of a city influence the intensity of the heat island effect.
Urban heat islands are associated not only with elevated temperatures, but also with higher pollution levels. Extremely high temperatures combined with air pollution levels can have detrimental effects on human health. The continued trend of population aging could further exacerbate the effects of heatwaves, as elderly and vulnerable people with chronic diseases have a heightened risk of heat-related death.
Recent Joint Research Centre (JRC) research shows that urban growth in Europe has led to an increase in soil sealing, where the built environment not only prevents rain from being absorbed into the ground, but also inhibits the replenishment of groundwater supplies. This is exacerbating the risk of floods, water scarcity problems (particularly in areas water consumption is increasing due to population growth), while drought episodes are becoming more common. As a result of soil sealing, 46 % of Europe’s urban area now has a low capacity to mitigate floods.
Built-up areas have been increasing in the main metropolitan and coastal areas. The demand for leisure, especially along the European coast, has exposed more people and assets to coastal flooding. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), sea levels and extreme high coastal levels have been rising. Continuous urbanisation along the coast is therefore likely to lead to major losses from flooding.
The design and characteristics of buildings are important factors in a city’s resilience or vulnerability to disaster events. The size of the built-up area in the EU is about 25 billion square metres, of which about 10 billion were built before the 1960s. Buildings built more than half a century ago often do not meet evolving needs or standards for resilience. This is a major concern, with the age of these buildings posing significant challenges to European cities. Analysis shows that most buildings in the seismic-prone regions of Europe were designed without making provisions for earthquake resistance.
Urban sprawl can be defined as the development of urban areas on undeveloped land, and is associated with many disaster risks. Urban sprawl into forested areas is increasing the risk of wildfires that result in human casualties and damage to property. Urban encroachment on industrial sites is another concern that has gained renewed attention after recent chemical accidents in France and Spain.
Furthermore, sprawling cities consume larger amounts of land, demand more energy and transport, and emit higher amounts of greenhouse gases compared to more compact areas. This continuous development fragments landscapes, leading to the deterioration of biodiversity and damage to the ecosystem.
Throughout Europe, the importance of sustainable urban development and resilience to disasters has risen up the municipal agenda.
In ‘Forging a climate-resilient Europe – the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change’, the European Commission outlines a long-term vision for the EU to become a climate-resilient society and set clear targets by 2030 to assist European citizens, communities and regions in better understanding, preparing, finding solutions for and managing climate risks.
The Urban Agenda for the EU addresses problems (such as housing, air quality, urban mobility and accessibility, energy transition) cities are facing by setting up Partnerships between the Commission, EU organisations, national governments, city authorities and other stakeholders (such as non-governmental organisations).
Green and hybrid infrastructure and nature-based solutions play an important role in mitigating weather-related disaster risks as a result of climate change. A JRC study of nearly 700 urban areas in the EU found that, on average, 40 % of their surface area was green space. This percentage varied widely the across different cities, however, as did the distribution of green spaces and residents’ access to them.
Published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2022, the Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability report and dedicated chapter on Cities, Settlements and Key Infrastructure asserts that ‘in all cities and urban areas, the risk faced by people and assets from hazards associated with climate change has increased’, and provides additional insight into the climate induced risks for cities and settlements.
The EU provides support through a wide range of funding programmes covering funding opportunities, as well as advice on how to access funding and put it to use. Among those initiatives, the most relevant is the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which allocates a minimum of 8 % resource to sustainable urban development.
Co-financed by the ERDF, the URBACT programme has been the European Territorial Cooperation programme aiming to foster sustainable integrated urban development in cities across Europe, while INTERREG is a key instrument supporting cooperation across borders that also address urban adaptation in their calls.
The Just Transition Platform aims to assist EU countries and regions to unlock the support available through the Just Transition Mechanism.
Under the ‘Climate change adaptation action’, the LIFE programme provides grants for best practice, pilot and demonstration projects that contribute to increased resilience to climate change.
Cities are front-runners in formulating, testing and exchanging innovative solutions to contribute towards more balanced growth and safer urban environments, and the importance of sustainable urban development and resilience to disasters has become a top priority in the municipal agenda throughout Europe.
Launched in 2008, the Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy brings together 9 000 local and regional authorities from across the world voluntarily committed to achieving and exceeding the EU climate and energy targets.
Under the auspices of the United Nation Agency for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative aims to ensure cities become inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030, contributing directly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11).
EU Policy and legislative context | Relevant stakeholders and instruments | Additional information |
Building stock inventory to assess seismic vulnerability across Europe | ||
Regulation (EU) 2019/941 on risk-preparedness in the electricity sector | Future heat-waves, droughts and floods in 571 European cities | |
Faced with increasing heat waves frequency, European cities need to adapt | ||
