The event is an excursion to The Beach Park in Køge Bay, which is a nature-based coastal protection project from 1980 located south of Copenhagen in Denmark.

The Beach Park in Køge Bay is composed of two human-made barrier islands protecting the hinterland against flooding. It is one of the very few examples of a realized nature-based climate adapted coastal landscape in a Danish context. The Beach Park, which is seven kilometres long, was the largest coastal embankment in northern Europe of its time. Today the Beach Park functions as an important recreational landscape, which further supports biodiversity, bird life and various habitats.

Following the guided tour to The Beach Park in Køge Bay we will visit an exhibition and attend an international panel debate on nature-based solutions and coastal landscapes at CAFx in central Copenhagen.

Organisers
The event is organized by architect and professor Gertrud Jørgensen, urban planner and associate professor Ole Fryd and landscape architect and assistant professor Anna Aslaug Lund from University of Copenhagen. The event is coordinated in close collaboration with Aarhus School of Architecture and the Technical University of Denmark.

As background information, the organisers have published this paper on the Beach Park in Køge Bay.

Program
The event is in English and will take place on the 6th of July 2023 from 14:30-18:30 and the preliminary program is as follows:

14:30-15:15: Transportation by bus from Bella Center to The Beach Park. Anna Aslaug Lund will give an introduction to the background of the beach park during the bus ride.

15:15-15:40: In The Beach Park. Introduction to The Beach Park by Gertrud Jørgensen and Ole Fryd.

15:40-16:30: Guided walking tour in The Beach Park.

16:30-17:00: Transportation by bus to CAFx in Vesterbro in Copenhagen to visit an exhibition on nature-based solutions and coastal landscapes, which among others Anna Aslaug Lund has been involved in creating.

17:15-17:45: Debate on nature-based solutions and coastal landscapes moderated by Ole Fryd. Preliminary participants: Vittore Negretto (IUAV), Mikkel Henriques (Realdania), Katrina Wiberg (AAA), Anna Aslaug Lund and Gertrud Jørgensen (UCPH).

17:15-18:30: Drinks and exhibition.

The 17 SDGs
The topic of the event is climate adaptation of coastal landscapes through nature-based solutions. Thus, the event contributes to the overall goal of the congress by strengthening knowledge and insight on particularly the following SDGs: 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities), 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production), 13 (Climate Action), 15 (Life on Land).

Accessibility
The tour includes a walk in the Beach Park and bus transport to and from the Beach Park. People with mobility impairment are kindly requested to contact the organisers at of@ign.ku.dk to ensure that proper arrangements are made to accommodate their needs.

Practical information
This side event is free of charge.

A bus will pick you up at the UIA conference venue at Bella Center on 6 July 2023 at 14.30 pm and bring you to The Beach Park and CAFx. The event will end at CAFx, Halmtorvet 27 in the city centre of Copenhagen.

The number of participants is limited to a maximum of 50.

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