Water Sensitive Urban Design for the Arid Mediterranean in the Context of Climate Change
24 November 2025. From 18:30 | Conference | English | IEMed
In the face of climate change, which intensifies heat, reduces precipitation, and increases the risk of drought, Mediterranean cities urgently need to adopt “water-sensitive” strategies. This supports Gareth Doherty’s thesis, according to which “water could be a framework through which to view the green”. By weaving in insights from ancient Mediterranean civilizations and their adaptive water practices, we can see that intelligent water design is both timeless and timely.
Case studies from the arid Mediterranean demonstrate how scale-specific strategies — spanning city-wide master plans to neighborhood retrofits and street-level interventions — shape stormwater management, expand urban green networks, strengthen habitat connectivity and advance social equity. These examples collectively illustrate tangible gains in resilience and livability, offering a clear, implementable path for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers alike.
A lecture by Hayriye Esbah-Tuncay, professor of Landscape Architecture at Istanbul Technical University. She earned her PhD in Environmental Design and Planning from Arizona State University, was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and received several fellowships from the European Union.
Recognized for her pioneering research in landscape ecology and design, she is a leading figure in the field of sustainable city design in the face of climate change challenges. Her work emphasizes the promotion of healthy relationships between humans and nature across all types of landscapes. Her research interests focus on the challenges posed by the rapid growth of metropolitan areas in developing countries.
As the founding director of HET (Habitat-Ecology-Technology), she has led innovative projects that promote climate sustainability and resilience, which have received numerous national and international awards and recognitions.
She is also a member of ICOMOS and has published more than 150 articles in leading scientific and professional journals.
Within the framework of the Aula Mediterrània lecture series. Co-organised with the Master’s degree in Advanced Studies in Architecture-Barcelona (MBArch)
Language: English.
Speakers
Organised by
Within the framework of
