Mobile justice in the face of climate change on the North Adriatic coast

Abstract

The North Adriatic coast has been profoundly shaped by centuries of interaction between human activity and natural dynamics, with major transformations accelerating since the 19th century. Today, this territory faces escalating risks, intensified by climate change and decades of extractive development. This paper adopts the lens of mobility justice to analyze the region’s vulnerabilities and opportunities, focusing on three river transects: Stella, Corno-Aussa, and Natissa. Combining historical analysis, policy review, fieldwork, and design experimentation, the study explore a transition from rigid, unsustainable models toward adaptive, plural, and regenerative futures. It positions urban and territorial design as strategic tools to redistribute spatial opportunity, restore degraded ecologies, and ensure fair access to mobility and resources. The resulting project scenarios offer site-specific strategies that integrate climate resilience, intermodal connectivity, and ecological restoration, reimagining the North Adriatic as an amphibious, relational landscape shaped by both human and more-than-human agency.