Brito et al. (2026) Climate Resilience Assessment in Regions, Cities, Strategic Services, and Critical Infrastructure: Implementation and Outcomes

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Sustainability
• Year: 2026
• Authors: Rita Salgado Brito, Maria Adriana Cardoso, Ana Mendes, Anabela Oliveira, Alex de la Cruz-Coronas, Marianne Bügelmayer‐Blaschek, Elena Veza
• DOI: 10.3390/su18031701

Research Groups

• Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB), Spain.
• Research consortium involved in the development of the open-access resilience platform (specific laboratory names not provided in text).
• Stakeholders from the Austrian rural case (SLR).

Short Summary

The study presents a holistic, web-based resilience assessment framework and platform designed to help metropolitan and rural areas plan for and monitor climate-related hazards using nature-based solutions. Application of the tool in Spain and Austria demonstrated its ability to move regional planning from basic to comprehensive assessment levels.

Objective

• To develop and validate a multi-dimensional resilience assessment method and open-access platform that integrates nature-based solutions and critical infrastructure management to address climate hazards (floods, droughts, heat/cold waves, windstorms, and forest fires).

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Regional and local scales, specifically the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB), Spain, and a rural area in Austria (SLR).
• Temporal Scale: Not explicitly defined, but focused on current assessment and ongoing monitoring of resilience capacities.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: A holistic resilience assessment framework integrated with a specific framework for critical infrastructure; assessment of four dimensions: organizational (governance, social, finance), spatial (exposure, impacts), functional (service management, interdependencies), and physical (infrastructure robustness).
• Data sources: Strategic service data (water, waste, natural areas), infrastructure metrics, and stakeholder-provided data integrated into an open-access web-based platform.

Main Results

• The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) successfully transitioned from an "essential" to a "comprehensive" assessment level using the tool.
• Approximately 33% of the resilience metrics in the AMB case were identified as "advanced" or "progressing."
• The Austrian rural case (SLR) successfully utilized the framework to evaluate resilience capabilities specifically regarding electrical infrastructure.
• The platform effectively addressed common limitations such as fragmented service provision and communication silos.

Contributions

• Development of an integrated, open-access web platform that bridges the gap between theoretical resilience and practical regional planning.
• Introduction of a multi-dimensional approach that balances nature-based solutions with physical infrastructure robustness.
• Provision of step-by-step guidance to overcome data constraints and interdependency challenges in metropolitan service management.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Brito2026Climate,
  author = {Brito, Rita Salgado and Cardoso, Maria Adriana and Mendes, Ana and Oliveira, Anabela and Cruz-Coronas, Alex de la and Bügelmayer‐Blaschek, Marianne and Veza, Elena},
  title = {Climate Resilience Assessment in Regions, Cities, Strategic Services, and Critical Infrastructure: Implementation and Outcomes},
  journal = {Sustainability},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/su18031701},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/su18031701}
}

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