i-PLACE 26: The Key Cities Symposium – Climate Resilience and Adaptation

Part of i-PLACE 26 – connecting cities and partners to deliver climate resilience at scale.

Building resilient places for the long term

This half-day symposium brings together city leaders, researchers, policymakers and practitioners to explore how places can respond to long-term climate risks.

The focus is on practical action and scalable innovation—how adaptation strategies are developed, how they are financed, and how they can be applied across different types of places.

Who can attend?

🎟 Free for i-PLACE 26 participants (separate registration required)

This event is designed for those attending i-PLACE 26, with priority given to conference participants.

What to expect

☕ Breakfast Briefing (08:30–10:00)

A pre-symposium briefing with experts from Innovate UK and AHRC, exploring funding opportunities for climate resilience and adaptation, including:

• Horizon Europe
• Erasmus+
• UKRI and other funding

🌍 Symposium (10:00–13:00)

A focused programme examining climate resilience across Key Cities and beyond, including:

• Understanding long-term climate risks in coastal, urban and regional contexts
• Adaptation strategies for flooding, infrastructure and community resilience
• Innovation in financing climate adaptation
• The role of arts and culture in strengthening social resilience and community engagement

Featured projects and case studies

The symposium will highlight real-world work across the network, including:

Plymouth and Pathways2Resilience (P2R)

Plymouth is participating in the EU’s flagship climate adaptation programme, working with over 100 regions across Europe to develop strategies, action plans and investment frameworks for long-term resilience.

The programme focuses on:

• assessing long-term social and environmental risks
• developing locally co-designed adaptation strategies
• exploring new approaches to adaptation finance, including making resilience investable

This work is being developed in partnership with the University of Plymouth and forms part of a wider effort to identify solutions that can be scaled across the Key Cities network and beyond.

Across the Key Cities network

We expect contributions from a range of places across the network, including coastal areas and inland urban centres.

The emphasis will be on:

• sharing practical experience
• identifying common challenges
• scaling innovation and best practice

We also anticipate engagement from European partners involved in climate adaptation programmes.

Why attend?

By attending the Symposium, you will:

• Gain insight into emerging approaches to climate adaptation
• Explore how resilience strategies can be financed and delivered
• Learn from real-world projects across cities and regions
• Connect with leaders across policy, research and practice

Who should attend?

This symposium is designed for those leading and shaping responses to climate risk, including:

• Local authority elected members with climate, environment or economic portfolios
• Senior officers responsible for climate, resilience, infrastructure or economic development
• Researchers and innovators working in climate science, social impacts and adaptation
• Professionals working in climate finance, investment and infrastructure
• Cultural organisations and practitioners exploring the role of arts in resilience and community engagement

Key information

• 📍 Location: Centenary Building, University of Southampton
• 🕗 Breakfast Briefing: 08:30–10:00
• 🕙 Symposium: 10:00–13:00
• 🍽 Light breakfast and refreshments included
• 🎟 Free to attend (registration required)

Register your place

Places are limited and must be reserved in advance.

👉 Please click register to attend the Symposium alongside your i-PLACE 26 participation.