Urban Planning and Sustainable Storm Water Management: Gaps and Potential for Integration for Climate Adaptation Strategies

While climate change urges cities to define appropriate strategies for climate adaptation, urban planning practices are still unable to encompass a broader understanding of hydraulic hazards and to exploit the mitigation potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) for stormwater management. This inability is particularly deep in the Italian context, where the integration of climate adaptation strategies within urban planning is very limited; thus, one of the planner’s overriding needs is to determine where NBS can be most effective. The objective of this paper is to identify key drivers and tools for the introduction of hydrological resilience assessments and sustainable storm water management in urban planning practices, as a contribution to climate adaptation strategies. Through a case study in the city of Bari, the paper proposes a method for identifying the most suitable urban areas for implementing NBS, i.e., areas where NBS are able to intercept runoff. On the other hand, the same approach allows one to evaluate in advance the impact of urban planning choices, or rather of the planned land use change. Finally, the planning tools that may favor the adoption of a NBS approach in urban planning are analyzed, with particular reference to the territorial landscape plan of the Apulia region and urban regeneration plans.