**5. Conclusions**

The resilience assessment framework (RAF) herein presented enables to highlight where the cities and respective urban services stand today regarding resilience to climate change, and to identify the most critical aspects to be improved, taking into account both the reference situation and the expected impacts of future climate change scenarios. The diagnosis allows for understanding those aspects that are being tackled properly and also to determine gaps and areas of improvement thanks to the great level of detail of the different dimensions that make up the assessment. It also provides a means to assess resilience progress, therefore contributing to an integrated and forward-looking approach to resilient and sustainable urban development. Additionally, it may facilitate communication among different stakeholders and between different decision levels.

The application of this framework to Bristol, Barcelona and Lisbon cities have demonstrated that the RAF is a tool that provides support to a structured assessment of urban resilience to climate change with a focus on water. Even though it was developed within the scope of climate change and with a focus on the water cycle, replication to other hazards and services is considered on its foundation. Given its different assessment levels, it may be used by any city, service or organisation that intends to undertake a resilience assessment with this scope and focus, regardless of their resilience maturity. The RAF allows to align with the resilience path and integrate the work already in place in the cities and services, as well as to consider the information provided by diverse analysis approaches and tools, already in use or to be used by the city and service managers. Given the adopted structure, an effective and robust implementation requires the involvement of multiple parties, in a collaborative process allowing incorporation of the best available information.

The RAF is a flexible framework allowing further inclusion of additional dimensions, such as social or economic, and of other objectives, criteria and metrics, for the services already addressed. Moreover, it may be strengthened with the incorporation of other services, such as telecommunication, education or health. Other development opportunities are the consideration of other hazards, such as earthquakes, or of other risks.

**Author Contributions:** M.A.C. supervised this entire study, co-developed the methodology, the framework and the validation, co-analysed the results, drafted manuscript and finalised it. R.S.B. co-developed the methodology, the framework and the validation, co-analysed the results and provided suggestions on the draft manuscript. C.P. co-developed the framework and the validation, co-analysed the results, contributed to the draft manuscript. A.G. coordinated the framework application in Barcelona and contributed to the draft manuscript. J.S. coordinated the framework application in Bristol and contributed to the draft manuscript. M.J.T. coordinated the framework application in Lisbon, provided suggestions on the framework and contributed to the draft manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by EUROPEAN UNION'S HORIZON 2020 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION PROGRAM, under the Grant Agreement number 700174.

**Acknowledgments:** The work presented was developed within the EU H2020 RESCCUE project—Resilience to Cope with Climate change in Urban areas. Acknowledgment is due to all RESCCUE partners, particularly from UN-Habitat and Luís Mesquita David and Maria do Céu Almeida from LNEC regarding contributions to the framework development, as well as to all participants of the Bristol, Barcelona and Lisbon workshops, particularly the external contributors, the organisers and facilitators fundamental for the validation.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
