Insights From Managed Retreat Projects in Europe

Abstract Managed retreat, the purposeful relocation of households and assets to reduce flood risk, is gaining recognition as an essential adaptation strategy under intensifying climate change. Although often contested and perceived as socially or politically unacceptable, managed retreat holds potential to enhance the long‐term resilience of at‐risk communities. In Europe, however, it remains comparatively underexplored, with only a handful of European managed retreat cases that have been reported on in the academic literature. Here, we present a data set of European managed retreat cases, based on a multilingual review of academic and gray literature, as well as media articles. We found 44 implemented or planned cases of managed retreat across the continent, spanning 11 countries, ranging from the relocation of individual assets to more than 1,500 households. Through a cross‐case analysis, we identify five key factors that influence the process and outcomes of managed retreat projects: the compensation offered, the timing of the project, the engagement of the affected community, the leadership taken by the government, and the post‐relocation land use. Our analysis demonstrates that, although managed retreat remains less common than engineered protection measures, it is more prevalent in Europe than previously assumed and is already being practiced in varied forms. By uncovering common challenges and enabling conditions, this study offers transferable insights for advancing more anticipatory and strategically designed managed retreat initiatives, both within Europe and beyond.