European Coastal Areas and Opportunities for Sustainable Transformations in Post-Covid Society

Currently, the development of coastal urban planning and landscape design must confront the existing contrasts between the urban areas along the shore (including ports, industrial areas, residential areas) and the natural spaces of cities. European coastal landscapes, relating to the sea but also to rivers and lakes, are very often characterised by various functions and suffer from strong friction between the uses that citizens would like to develop along the coasts and logistical and commercial needs. At the same time, tourism is increasingly affirming itself as a fundamental economic pillar that inevitably influences the dynamics of develop-ment and evolutionary patterns of urban shores. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has altered social, economic, cultural and productive relationships and connections. In post-Covid society, the need for open spaces is higher than before, especially along the coast in order to access the sea as a natural place of great importance. Added to this is the greater demand for proximity open spaces by the post-Covid society, so that residential areas are directly connected with healthy places on the coasts, well known for the benefits to human health. The value of water recreational activities is in fact measured through the various positive effects on citizens’ well-being, in relation to physical exercise and mental well-being, which is one of the main reasons for pursuing the widest possible access to the sea. This paper aims to explore the value of ecological planning for national and international coasts, trying to analyse whether contemporary cities are effectively managed and designed to meet the economic and socio-recreational expectations of the users. The awareness of the effects of health-related environmental and socio-economic challenges, exacerbated by the current climate, economic and pandemic crisis, is a fundamental key to rethink urban planning approaches to improve the quality of life in our coastal cities.