Supporting homeowners to understand and adapt to soil instability in Lyon, France

Key Learnings

• Citizen empowerment: Educating homeowners about climate-related financial risk can help increase adaptation measures and reduce the gap between professional awareness of the issues at stake (among experts, insurers, public authorities, etc.) and individual action at the local level.
• Insurance challenges: Uncertainty around recognition of clay shrink-swell events under France’s Catastrophes Naturelles (Cat Nat) insurance scheme, and potential insurance risk for many homeowners exists. Clearly communicating when and why such events may not be insured and promoting preventive measures and early risk assessment contribute to closing this coverage gap.
• Communication is key: User-centred design of an online dashboard’s interface and of communication materials helps present complex data through a clear, accessible layout. This also helped engage homeowners who are unfamiliar with climate or insurance terminology.
• Scalability: The methodology and open-data framework developed and tested through the Lyon pilot were extended to the French national territory and can also be transferred and adapted to other European regions. By relying on open data, transparent methods, and a flexible structure, the online dashboard can be scaled to cover the entire French territory while supporting replication in other areas across Europe facing similar risks, thereby fostering broader uptake.

Summary

Testing the Clay Shrink Swell Building Damage Assessor in Lyon helped homeowners understand the potential insurance risks posed by climate change-induced soil instability. 

The online dashboard combines soil maps, real estate data and climate projections to show where risks are highest, how insurance coverage may be insufficient, and what preventive measures can be taken. The dashboard also demonstrated the value of accessible climate-risk communication tools for supporting citizen engagement and adaptation awareness, while showcasing how open data and adaptation methods can be scaled to the national level in France and replicated in other high-risk regions across Europe.

Citizen empowerment through clear communication, tailoring dissemination channels to reach homeowners effectively, and in-person engagement alongside digital outreach are important for raising awareness and expanding climate adaptation efforts. While the pilot phase primarily focused on awareness-raising and user engagement, feedback from user-testing sessions and outreach events showed that participants increasingly understood soil instability risks, insurance coverage limitations, and possible preventive actions.