Within the ongoing scientific and disciplinary debate on the interplay between climate change and land-use governance, this paper highlights the critical role of urban planning and design in shaping environmental regeneration strategies for coastal urban areas vulnerable to flooding phenomena. These flood events—driven by the combined effects of sea-level rise (SLR) and riverine flood—represent one of the key challenges facing the “global risk society” given their increasing impact on urban areas and the tangible economic, social, and environmental damages they produce. In this context, this paper presents selected outcomes from the findings of the research project “Climate-proof planning and regeneration strategies for adaptation to sea-level rise. Experimentation and innovation in local urban planning in at-risk areas of the Lazio region”, conducted at Sapienza University of Rome. The project focuses on research and experimental planning in coastal areas of Lazio identified as being at risk of SLR-related flooding by 2100. It aims to define theoretical–methodological and operational references for urban regeneration with an ecosystemic approach within the framework of so-called climate-proof planning. This study examines three macro-areas, further subdivided into seven distinct sites, categorized by their prevailing urban functions. For each site, following a preliminary assessment of flood-prone zones, tailored design actions are proposed. These actions are framed within three overarching of urban resilience strategies, developed in previous research by the authors: “defence”, “adaptation”, and “relocation”.

The effects of climate change have urgently necessitated an update of urban planning tools, with particular attention to the instruments designed to govern the transformation processes of coastal urban systems. These territories, intrinsically fragile, are increasingly exposed to phenomena such as sea level rise, flooding and storm surges, making it necessary to adopt integrated approaches that combine risk management and macro strategies of urban resilience, such as adaptation, defence and relocation. The contribution explores the role of the Urban Project as a procedure of controlled flexibility for the adaptive transformation of coastal areas, paying particular attention on the transition from the strategic-structural dimension to the implementation and regulatory dimension of planning at the local scale. Through the analysis of the case study of Local Plan No. 463 of Århusgadekvarteret in Nordhavn in the city of Copenhagen, the research highlights operational and regulatory references, as well as potential areas of innovation of the Urban Project as a procedural procedure linked to urban planning, thus offering a critical reading of the role that this tool could play in the resilient transformation of Italian coastal urban systems.