Harnessing Data for Landscape Flood Resilience in Norway Development and Testing of Urban Landscape Design Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation in the Case Study of Kvinesdal-Norway

Anthropocentric urban approaches to the built environment and extreme weather due to climate change have made devastating flooding events more common and destructive than before. Urbanism strategies that are founded in the logic of landscape have been coined with a diverse range of terminologies. At their core, they claim that urban resilience in an era of climate change requires a softer approach that is grounded in the natural systems that our cities occupy. The project proposes the exploration of risk-mitigating and adaptation strategies for flooding in the Norwegian landscape. Data-driven simulations and landscape composition inform design decisions and processes throughout the study. The chosen case study, Kvinesdal in southern Norway, is a suitable case for the project due to its wealth of data. Moreover, the storm Synne in 2015 propelled efforts for real-time monitoring, preparation, design and development of technology. The presented project conceives and tests three urban strategies for the urban center of Liknes, in Norway, with the ambition of evaluating qualitative and quantitative parameters chosen to present their hydrological and spatial performance. The interface of tangible landscape and GRASS GIS is used to test the ground operations proposed in the three alternatives to obtain hydrological performance values. Illustrations, orthographic drawings, and models are used to evaluate the alternatives’ spatial and urban performance. The flood risk mitigation and adaptation strategies are designed with a starting point within hydrological, urban and topographical conditions of the local landscape. The data-driven, quantitative assessments, as well as qualitative spatial design tools, offer a unique possibility for examining and presenting how the methodology can create a framework for landscape-scale approaches in mitigating risk and adaptation to floods.