The Old Town of Corfu is an excellent example of a historic town and a World Heritage Site, distinguished by its authentic and unique character, as reflected in its Venetian-era fortifications and extensive historic building stock. Simultaneously, the Old Town of Corfu is also a vibrant modern city vulnerable to various pressures, including climate change. This paper aims to evaluate the effects of climate change on this modern city monument, assess its vulnerability using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s methodology, and develop a comprehensive set of adaptation proposals. The methodology of this paper is based on the analysis of climate data for the Old Town of Corfu, from which the assessment of the extreme weather events and climate changes that pose the greatest threat to the Old Town and the assessment of its vulnerability to these threats are derived. The dense geometrical characteristics of the city’s structure, the intense pathology observed in the materials and structures of the historic building stock, problems in the existing electromechanical infrastructure, and the poor management of issues such as increased tourism and heavy traffic congestion are the primary factors that make the Old Town of Corfu vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
References
[1]
Cassar, J. (2016). Climate Change and Archaeological Sites: Adaptation Strategies. In R.-A. Lefèvre, & C. Sabbioni (Eds.), Cultural Heritage from Pollution to Climate Change (pp. 119-127). Edipuglia.
[2]
Climate Central (2023). Coastal Risk Screening Tool. https://coastal.climatecentral.org/
[3]
Copernicus (2023). Vulnerability of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to Projected Sea Level Rise in the Mediterranean Sea. https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/apps/c3s/app-climate-mediterranean-sea-level
[4]
Corfu History (2023). Cartography. http://www.corfuhistory.eu/
[5]
CulturePolis (2014). Proposals for the Update of the Management Plan-Action Plan 2013-2018. https://issuu.com/culturepolis2014/docs/masterversion_management_plan_27.03
[6]
Daly, C., Cox, P., Cuffe-Fitzgerald, A., Dubs, B., & Pickerill, T. (2010). Monitoring Impacts of Climate Change on Built Heritage. Report of the ICOMOS Ireland Climate Change Sub-Committee. ICOMOS.
[7]
Dandoulaki, M., Lazoglou, M., Pangas, N., & Serraos, K. (2023). Disaster Risk Management and Spatial Planning: Evidence from the Fire-Stricken Area of Mati, Greece. Sustainability, 15, Article No. 9776. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129776
[8]
Dimitriou, H. (2022). Flood Risk Assessment in the Old Town of Corfu. ELLINIKI ETAIRIA Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage.
[9]
Elliniki Etairia Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET) (2022). Development of Pilot Assessments and Adaptation Guidelines for Cultural Heritage. Case Study: The Old Town of Corfu [V. Pougkakioti (Ed.)]. ELLINIKI ETAIRIA Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage.
[10]
European Environment Agency (EEA) (2014). Horizon 2020 Mediterranean Report. Toward Shared Environmental Information Systems—EEA-UNEP/MAP Joint Report. Publications Office of the European Union.
[11]
European Environment Agency (EEA) (2023). Global and European Sea Level Rise. https://www.eea.europa.eu/ims/global-and-european-sea-level-rise
[12]
Fatoric, S., & Seekamp, E. (2017). Are Cultural Heritage and Resources Threatened by Climate Change? A Systematic Literature Review. Climatic Change, 142, 227-254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-017-1929-9
[13]
Gemitzi, A., Petalas, C., Tsihrintzis, V. A., & Pisinaras, V. (2006). Assessment of Groundwater Vulnerability to Pollution: A Combination of GIS, Fuzzy Logic and Decision-Making Techniques. Environmental Geology, 49, 653-673. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-005-0104-1
[14]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (1990). Climate Change: The IPCC Scientific Assessment (1990) [J. T. Houghton, G. J. Jenkins, & J. J. Ephraums (Eds.)]. Cambridge University Press.
[15]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (1995). Climate Change 1995. The Science of Climate Change. Contribution of WGI to the Second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [J. T. Houghton, L. G. MeiraFilho, B. A. Callander, N. Harris, A. Kattenberg, & K. Maskell (Eds.)]. Cambridge University Press.
[16]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2001). Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
[17]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007). Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K. B. Averyt, M. Tignor, & H. L. Miller (Eds.)]. Cambridge University Press.
[18]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2014). Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [R. K. Pachauri, & L. A. Meyer (Eds.)]. IPCC.
[19]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2021). AR6 Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
[20]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2022). Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D. C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E. S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, & B. Rama (Eds.)] (3056 p). Cambridge University Press.
[21]
Interregional Cultural Heritage Management E-System (IRC-Hermes) (2021). http://bitly.ws/J2iJ
[22]
Kalantzopoulou, M. (2022). Assessment of Accessibility (Traffic Flows and Infrastructure) under Extreme Adverse Events. Case Study: The Old Town of Corfu. ELLINIKI ETAIRIA Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage.
[23]
Kokkoris, I., (2022). The Vulnerability of Flora and Vegetation in the Old Town of Corfu. ELLINIKI ETAIRIA Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage.
[24]
Kourgialas, N. N., & Karatzas, G. P. (2011). Flood Management and a GIS Modelling Method to Assess Flood-Hazard Areas—A Case Study. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 56, 212-225. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2011.555836
[25]
Lazoglou, M. (2022a). Resilience as a Spatial Planning Parameter against the Effects of Climate Change: The Significance of Greek Medium Coastal Cities and the Role of Modern Technologies. Postdoctoral Thesis, National Technical University of Athens.
[26]
Lazoglou, M. (2022b). Strengthening the Resilience of Coastal Cities against Climate Change through Spatial Planning: Evidence from Greece. Current Urban Studies, 10, 639-654. https://doi.org/10.4236/cus.2022.104038
[27]
Lazoglou, M., & Serraos, K. (2021). Climate Change Adaptation through Spatial Planning: The Case Study of the Region of Western Macedonia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 899, Article ID: 012021. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/899/1/012021
[28]
Maistros, A. D. (2022). Risk Assessment from the Effects of Climate Change. Analysis of Supporting IT Infrastructure Facilities. Case Study: The Old Town of Corfu. ELLINIKI ETAIRIA Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage.
[29]
Maistrou, E., Mallouchou-Tufano, F., Pougkakioti, V., Kotzamani, G., & Lazoglou, M. (2021). Development of a Methodology to Monitor and Evaluate the Adaptation of Greek Cultural Heritage to the Effects of Climate Change. In Transdisciplinary Multispectral Modelling and Cooperation for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (pp. 105-113). National Technical University of Athens.
[30]
Maistrou, E., Pougkakioti, V., & Lazoglou, M. (2022a). Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change at a Historic Settlement: The Case of the Old Town of Corfu. In 5th International Conference on “Changing Cities V: Spatial, Design, Landscape, Heritage & Socio-Economic Dimensions (p. 104). University of Thessaly.
[31]
Maistrou, E., Pougkakioti, V., & Lazoglou, M. (2023). Exploring Participation in the Decision-Making Process in Cultural Heritage Adaptation to Climate Change, Participatory Planning. Commonspace Ed.
[32]
Maistrou, E., Pougkakioti, V., Lazoglou, M., & Toufano-Mallouchou, F. (2022b). Monument Vulnerability and the Impact of Climate Change: The Case Study of the Archaeological Site of Ancient Messini. In 6th Panhellenic Conference on Restoration (pp. 214-216). Company for Research and Promotion of the Scientific Restoration of Monuments (ETEPAM).
[33]
Maravelaki, P. N., Kapetanaki, K., & Avgerou N. (2022). Study of the Behaviour of the Materials of the Historic Buildings and Monuments of the Old Town of Corfu in the Climatic Conditions Prevailing in the Area. ELLINIKI ETAIRIA Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage.
[34]
McCarthy, J., Canziani, O. F., Leary, N. A., Dokken, D. J., & White, K. S. (2001). Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [K. S. White (Ed.)]. Cambridge University Press.
[35]
Meteo (2023). Map of High-Impact Weather Events. https://www.meteo.gr/weatherEvents.cfm
[36]
Municipality of Corfu, Technical Chamber of Greece-Department of Corfu and Hellenic Ministry of Culture (2005). Old Town of Corfu. Management Plan 2006-2012. https://www.corfu.gr/web/guest/unesco/sxedio (In Greek) https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/978/documents/ (In English)
[37]
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) (2021). Deliverable 2.1, “Development of a Master Plan for the Protection and Sustainable Development of Medieval Fortification Monuments in Medieval Cities. Application to the Old and the New Fortress of the Old Town of Corfu, Research Project. National Technical University of Athens.
[38]
Orr, S. A., Richards, J., & Fatorić, S. (2021). Climate Change and Cultural Heritage: A Systematic Literature Review (2016-2020). The Historic Environment: Policy & Practice, 12, 434-477. https://doi.org/10.1080/17567505.2021.1957264
[39]
Plan Bleu (2023). Mediterranean Observatory on Environment and Sustainable Development. https://planbleu.org/en/observatory/
[40]
Reimann, L., Vafeidis, A. T., Brown, S., Hinkel, J., & Richard, S. J. (2018). Mediterranean UNESCO World Heritage at Risk from Coastal Flooding and Erosion due to Sea-Level Rise. Nature Communications, 9, Article No. 4161. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06645-9
[41]
Sabbioni, C., Cassar, M., Brimblecombe, P., & Lefevre, R. A. (2008). Vulnerability of Cultural Heritage to Climate Change (pp. 1-24). European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA).
[42]
Satta, A., Venturini, S., Puddu, M., Firth, J., & Lafitte, A. (2015). Strengthening the Knowledge Base on Regional Climate Variability and Change: Application of a Multi-Scale Coastal Risk Index at Regional and Local Scale in the Mediterranean. https://planbleu.org/en/publications/strengthening-the-knowledge-base-on-regional-climate-variability-and-change-application-of-a-multi-scale-coastal-risk-index-at-regional-and-local-scale-in-the-mediterranean/
[43]
Sesana, E., Gagnon, A. S., Bonazza, A., & Hughes, J. J. (2020). An Integrated Approach for Assessing the Vulnerability of World Heritage Sites to Climate Change Impacts. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 41, 211-224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2019.06.013
[44]
Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) of the Municipality of Central Corfu & Interprovincial Islands (2022). Municipality of Central Corfu & Diapontia Islands: Technical Services Department. Department of Transport, Traffic & Transport Permits.
[45]
UNESCO (2008). Case Studies on Climate Change and World Heritage. CLT-2008/WS/6. World Heritage Centre.
[46]
United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) (2016). Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development 2016-2025. Investing in eNvironmental Sustainability to Achieve Social and Economic Development. Plan Bleu, Regional Activity Centre.
[47]
Van Wagner, C. E. (1987). Development and structure of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System. Forestry Technical Report 35. Canadian Forestry Service.
[48]
Varlas, G., Stefanidis, K., Papaioannou, G., Panagopoulos, Y., Pytharoulis, I., Katsafados, P., Papadopoulos, A., & Dimitriou, E. (2022). Unraveling Precipitation Trends in Greece since 1950s Using ERA5 Climate Reanalysis Data. Climate, 10, Article No. 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli10020012
[49]
Wolff, C., Vafeidis, A. T., Muis, S., Lincke, D., Satta, A., Lionello, P., Jimenez, J. A., Conte, D., & Hinkel, J. (2018). A Mediterranean Coastal Database for Assessing the Impacts of Sea-Level Rise and Associated Hazards. Scientific Data, 5, Article No. 180044. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.44
