Flood management in the built environment: the micro-scale contribution to a distributed strategy

Abstract The built environment offers an opportunity to implement Flood Risk Management measures by spatially distributing them as a complementary alternative to large-scale protection schemes. Specifically, micro-scale solutions focus on buildings, open spaces, users, and small infrastructure, addressing various flood management strategies with different performance indicators. These measures encompass, for instance, private precautionary measures like floodproofing or elevation, and nature-based solutions. However, their adoption faces technology, economics, and social challenges. To effectively reduce flood risk and increase the built environment’s resilience to floods, a systemic approach is necessary, evaluating and jointly implementing diverse measures across the built environment. Drawing from a systematic literature review and expert interviews, this study explores micro-scale Flood Risk Management measures within the built environment, examining their barriers and drivers. Additionally, it introduces an atlas of multi-strategy measures, qualitatively comparing their performance. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for a holistic perspective on flood adaptation and highlights opportunities to enhance building-level adaptation actions through collaboration with various stakeholders.