Adapting urban land use in a time of climate change; Optimising future land-use patterns to decrease flood risks

It is increasingly acknowledged that a careful planning of urban areas is needed to cope with the negative effects of future climate changes. The planning process calls for fi nding a balance between various ecosystem services, such as, water and air purifi cation, the regulation of rainfall, the preservation of natural and cultural values, increased fl ood risk, while at the same time providing ample space for societal demands in relation to residences, employment and recreation. In this paper we focus on the possibilities of adapting land in urban areas in such a way that possible negative effects of climate change, in particular fl ooding, are reduced as much as possible. We will illustrate this with a case-study in the Netherlands, using a GIS-based land-use simulation model in combination with a fl ood damage assessment module. This combination of tools is applied in a regional planning context to optimise land-use patterns taking into account fl ood risk and other water management issues.