Relocation of communities in coastal areas: The case of Praia de Faro, Portugal

The main objective of this project aims to understand the pros and cons of relocating communities from coastal areas, as well as understanding the perception of communities located in the risk areas. The increasing anthropogenic pressure in coastal areas and the effects of climate change represent a growing risk for resident communities and their properties. One of the most relevant problems of the Portuguese coast is erosion, with 67% of the coastline at risk of effective territory loss. In order to analyze the process of a coastal relocation one case study was selected and will be analyzed, on the Portuguese coast, at Praia de Faro. This project involves a literature review to understand coastal urbanization, an analysis of coastal relocation policies in Portugal, and also a data collection for the selected case study. Valuable results will be produced not only to the academic community, local and national policy makers as well as the resident communities in areas vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flood risk.