Sustainable Coastal Cities between Theory and Practice (Case Study: Egyptian Coastal Cities)

Climate change is no longer considered an environmental or scientific issue but rather a developmental challenge that requires urgent, dynamic policy and technical responses at the regional, national and local levels. Its actions and responses impact sustainable development, ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity. There has been an intensive discussion and research about sea level rise (S.L.R) one of the most negative impacts of climate change which affects many coastal cities around the world. Egypt is considered one of the top five countries expected to be impacted with S.L.R in the world, especially northern areas of the Nile Delta and cities located on the Mediterranean coast.This paper aims to evaluate the impact of S.L.R on the urban development strategies of the Egyptian northern coastal cities; highlighting the national response to global efforts regarding this problem in order to enhance the capacity for the adaptation and mitigation of potential impacts in the long term. Finally, it suggests some recommendations and framework actions to be taken to help Egyptian coastal cities in dealing with climate change over different timescales.