Coastal areas are facing three important challenges related to economic, social and environmental aspects and referred to three great changes: demographic changes (i.e. population growth), structural changes (i.e. globalization) and environmental changes (i.e. climate change). All these challenges are interdependent and thus they need systemic solutions. Worldwide, almost half a billion people live in coastal cities and thus the urbanization is here concentrated, resulting the place where the above mentioned changes are more evident and where there is the highest level of vulnerability to changing in marine environment. Coastal areas represent therefore a good observation point to understand the relationship between the urbanization strategies and environmental changes. In accordance with 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of United Nations, which aims to take transformation measures to shift the world towards a sustainable and resilient future, this study aims to underline the important role of the integrated planning/management of coastal areas in the sustainable development (particular reference to the goals 11 and 14 of SDGs). The waterfront cannot be considered a simple demarcation between the city and the sea; it represents a complex system characterized by a particular landscape in which socio-cultural, economic and ecological systems are interconnected and where there is a strong relationship between human activities and marine environment. The regeneration and management of coastal regions cannot leave future sea changes out of consideration. Therefore, future scenarios of sea level change need to be assessed to plan sustainable development of coastal cities. The case study is the city of Pozzuoli (Italy) and in particular the area occupied by the abandoned plants of ex ofer This area is under regulations related to the protection of natural and archaeological resources and is included in the Masterplan of Pozzuoli Coastline. The present planning instruments and some research studies identify different scenarios and a set of functions for the development of this area. In this study, future changes in sea volume caused by the ongoing climate changes are taken into account to assess potential flooding scenarios. The assessment of the zones potentially exposed to sea flooding is based on the combination of future sea level scenarios (IPCC, 2014) with the local topographic information provided by the Italian Environmental Ministry. This study provides a mapping of Pozzuoli coastal area to evaluate which functions can be considered for the sustainable development of the city, integrating environmental aspects with economic and social growth.