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“Sponge City” in China—A breakthrough of planning and flood risk management in the urban context
Abstract
Surface water flooding is currently viewed as the most serious water-related issue in many of the China’s large cities due to rapid urbanization, land-use change and the process of rapid socio-economic development. In 2014, the People’s Republic of China established the concept of the ‘Sponge City’, which will be used to tackle urban surface-water flooding and related urban water management issues, such as purification of urban runoff, attenuation of peak run-off and water conservation. The concept is being developed to make use of ‘blue’ and ‘green’ spaces in the urban environment for stormwater management and control. It is envisaged that related practices will enhance natural ecosystems and provide more aesthetically pleasing space for the people that live and work in urban environments, in addition enabling nature-based solutions to improve urban habitats for birds and other organisms.
Until recently, grey infrastructure and hard engineering-based management approaches have been adopted in the rapidly developing Chinese urban environment as urban flood and drainage issues are predominantly managed by municipal water engineers. The Sponge City concept and related guidelines and practices will provide multiple opportunities to integrate ideas from eco-hydrology, climate change impact assessment and planning, and consideration of long-term social and environmental well-being, within the urban land-use planning process.
This paper aims to explicate the Sponge city concept and its development, and consider the implications of the transformation of urban land-use planning and urban-water management practice in China. To achieve the dual goals of sustainable water-use and better flood control (as targeted by the Sponge City concept), more effective development and implementation of land-use guidance and assessment tools (with explicit integration of urban flood-risk assessment, land-drainage guidance, climate projection methods, and assessment of long-term sustainability) are recommended.
... In urban settings, the advantages of NBS are progressively recognized due to the enhanced provision and accessibility of urban green spaces offering multiple benefits such as improved quality of life and health as well as strengthened cultural identities [87]. The development of Sponge City (SC) represents one of the NBS principles by enabling the absorption and retention of stormwater runoff to manage urban water resources [28] through provision of permeable surfaces and green areas. This approach not only addresses urban flooding and water scarcity but also aligns with other broader NBS objectives such as enhancing urban biodiversity, improving air quality, and creating healthier living environments [67]. ...
... The findings indicate that traditional drainage system primarily focus on transporting stormwater away from the urban areas, while SC emphasizes on-site water retention, storage, and infiltration, lowering both the volume and peak flow rate of runoff. Thus, the SC model uses natural methods that help relieve stress on traditional drainage systems and reduce the risk of urban flooding [28,67]. The approach benefits the urban environment by improving biodiversity, aesthetics, recreational opportunities, ultimately promoting human well-being and livability, and strengthening overall resilience of the city (see Fig. 2 and Table 2) [87]. ...
... While sponge cities are recognized for their potential to manage stormwater and improve urban resilience, they face significant limitations and challenges. Their sustainability depends on its adaptability, as there is no standard model to aid design and implementation [28]. Its effective application is influenced by various elements such as local climate, hydrological conditions, land use patterns, available resources, policy integration [108,64]. ...
... The Yinchun Road Sponge Park ( Figure 2, the image is an original work by the authors) integrates stormwater management with park services. It is also a key demonstration project of a sponge city, an urban stormwater management concept proposed by China, to effectively control urban runoff [45], with the main control target being a total annual runoff control rate of 90%. The park covers a total area of approximately 10.5 hm 2 , of which approximately 4.1 hm 2 is equipped with various forms of GSI, including pervious paving, sunken green spaces, and stormwater wetlands. ...
... This approach not only replenishes groundwater but also reduces the peak surface runoff during heavy rainfall, effectively addressing the long- The Yinchun Road Sponge Park ( Figure 2, the image is an original work by the authors) integrates stormwater management with park services. It is also a key demonstration project of a sponge city, an urban stormwater management concept proposed by China, to effectively control urban runoff [45], with the main control target being a total annual runoff control rate of 90%. The park covers a total area of approximately 10.5 hm 2 , of which approximately 4.1 hm 2 is equipped with various forms of GSI, including pervious paving, sunken green spaces, and stormwater wetlands. ...
... The Yinchun Road Sponge Park ( Figure 2, the image is an original work by th thors) integrates stormwater management with park services. It is also a key demon tion project of a sponge city, an urban stormwater management concept propose China, to effectively control urban runoff [45], with the main control target being a annual runoff control rate of 90%. The park covers a total area of approximately 10.5 of which approximately 4.1 hm 2 is equipped with various forms of GSI, including p ous paving, sunken green spaces, and stormwater wetlands. ...
As a type of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), stormwater parks play a crucial role in mitigating urban heat and managing stormwater, especially in subtropical monsoon climates where high temperatures and rainfall coincide. The benefits of microclimate improvement are associated with the specific surface types of stormwater parks. However, research on how different surfaces affect the microclimates of stormwater parks remains limited. This study utilized an unmanned aerial vehicle to investigate the surface temperature characteristics of blue–green–gray underlying surfaces within a stormwater park and employed multiple linear regression to analyze their impact on the microclimate. The results indicated that (1) blue underlying surfaces functioned as a stable cold source in dry periods but warmed quickly after rainfall. (2) Green surfaces consistently provided a cooling effect on the microclimate, with cooling intensity intricately related to vegetation structure. Specifically, the cooling effects of arbor–shrub–grass and arbor–shrub combinations were greater than those of other plant configurations. (3) The warming effect of gray underlying surfaces was affected by weather conditions and permeability, with pervious concrete exhibiting lower surface temperatures than impervious pavements during dry spells, although this difference diminished significantly after rain. These findings provide scientific evidence and design guidance for enhancing the sustainability of microclimates.
... Konsep "sponge city" atau "kota berpori" muncul sebagai solusi potensial untuk mengatasi tantangan curah hujan ekstrem dan banjir di perkotaan. Sponge city bertujuan meningkatkan kemampuan kota dalam menyerap, menyimpan, membersihkan, dan menggunakan kembali air hujan melalui integrasi infrastruktur hijau dan biru ke dalam perencanaan kota [2], [3]. Penerapan strategi sponge city dapat secara signifikan mengurangi risiko banjir perkotaan dengan meningkatkan kapasitas infiltrasi dan menahan limpasan permukaan [4], [5]. ...
... Komponen utama sponge city meliputi infrastruktur hijau seperti taman hujan, atap hijau, dan bioswales, serta infrastruktur biru seperti kolam retensi, saluran air, dan sistem pemanenan air hujan [6]. Komponen-komponen ini bekerja bersama untuk mengelola air hujan secara alami dan berkelanjutan, sekaligus memberikan manfaat tambahan seperti peningkatan kualitas air, pengurangan efek pulau panas perkotaan, peningkatan keanekaragaman hayati, dan penciptaan ruang hijau untuk rekreasi [2]. ...
... Konsep sponge city atau kota berpori muncul sebagai solusi inovatif untuk mengatasi banjir perkotaan dan mengelola air hujan secara berkelanjutan. Prinsip sponge city adalah meningkatkan kemampuan kota dalam menyerap, menyimpan, membersihkan, dan memanfaatkan kembali air hujan melalui integrasi infrastruktur hijau dan biru [2], [3]. Penerapan strategi sponge city terbukti dapat mengurangi risiko banjir dengan meningkatkan infiltrasi, menahan limpasan permukaan, dan meningkatkan ketahanan kota terhadap perubahan iklim [2], [5]. ...
Kota Pontianak menghadapi tantangan serius terkait banjir, terutama pada bulan-bulan dengan curah hujan tinggi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengevaluasi potensi penerapan strategi sponge city dalam pengelolaan drainase perkotaan di Kota Pontianak sebagai solusi untuk mengatasi tantangan banjir. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif deskriptif-analitis dengan metode kajian literatur dan virtual benchmarking. Kajian literatur dilakukan untuk membangun landasan teoritis, sementara virtual benchmarking dilakukan terhadap kota-kota yang telah berhasil menerapkan strategi pengelolaan air perkotaan yang inovatif. Analisis kontekstual dilakukan untuk menilai kesesuaian dan tingkat implementasi konsep sponge city dalam konteks Kota Pontianak. Kajian literatur menunjukkan bahwa penerapan strategi sponge city dapat secara signifikan mengurangi risiko banjir perkotaan. Virtual benchmarking memberikan pembelajaran berharga tentang praktik-praktik terbaik dalam penerapan konsep sponge city. Analisis kontekstual menunjukkan bahwa Pontianak memiliki potensi untuk menerapkan konsep sponge city, dengan mempertimbangkan karakteristik geografis, klimatologis, dan sistem drainase eksisting kota. Kota Pontianak berpotensi menerapkan konsep sponge city sebagai solusi untuk meningkatkan ketahanan terhadap banjir. Penerapan sponge city memerlukan pendekatan terpadu dan kolaboratif yang melibatkan berbagai pemangku kepentingan.
... However, FRM emphasizes risk mitigation through drainage systems, emergency responses and flood resilience. It mainly targets flood prevention, preparedness and post-flood recovery [11]. In summary, FRM addresses specific flood risks and disaster preparedness, whereas WSUD is more anticipatory and comprehensive. ...
... Second, the past 10 years have seen the progressive evolution of WSUD and FRM to address the difficulties posed by climate change, with greater emphasis on resilience frameworks and new ideas combining ecological restoration and urban sustainability, such as sponge cities, IUWM, LID, GI, water-sensitive cities (WSCs) or blue-green infrastructure [11,12,[14][15][16][17]. Additionally, FRM has been included in fresh local methodologies such as local knowledge (LK) and multi-criteria assessment (MCA) to support local indicators [18,19]. ...
... Countries such as China are embracing an innovative approach known as the "sponge city program" [11,21,41,42]. Even regions such as the UK, which has historically had different climatic conditions, have seen a movement toward adopting similar methodologies. ...
Despite various sustainable urban development frameworks, over the years, inadequate land use patterns and infrastructure have worsened existing problems related to climate disasters such as flooding, heavy precipitation and droughts. Based on a systematic PRISMA literature search and bibliographic analysis, we analyzed statistical data from 44 articles relevant to water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) and flood risk management (FRM) worldwide from 2013 to 2023. We focused on specific selection criteria that focused on settlement typologies and outcomes, indicators and planning approaches to analyze the impact of flooding on urban infrastructure of four different settlement types in 23 case studies, summarized into nine different approaches. The results show that WSUD and FRM have shared sustainability goals but differ in their focus and applicability depending on the settlement type and indicators. In the context of strategic planning for urban sustainability, it can be stated that WSUD has a much stronger focus on integration and future orientation than FRM. Therefore, WSUD seems better suited to be linked to strategic planning for urban sustainability than FRM. Finally, we propose to extend WSUD to “water-sensitive regional design (WSRD)”. This broader framework would integrate regional hydrological, ecological and socioeconomic aspects to address water issues at a larger scale.
... La magnitud de esta problemática representa un desafío urbanístico al desarrollo tradicional, ya que se produce una presión insostenible sobre los recursos naturales, como el agua y el suelo [4], la calidad de aire, los alimentos . En la ciudad, en términos generales, una persona requiere como mínimo 30 m 2 de espacio habitacional y consume al menos 80 litros diarios de agua [5] [6]. Conforme la ciudad se expande, la tasa de consumo de superficie aumenta, lo que conlleva a que la tasa de uso del suelo urbano supere en al menos un 50% la tasa de crecimiento de la población. ...
... Conforme la ciudad se expande, la tasa de consumo de superficie aumenta, lo que conlleva a que la tasa de uso del suelo urbano supere en al menos un 50% la tasa de crecimiento de la población. [3] [6]. ...
... Por lo tanto, los riesgos de desastres suponen un desafío para muchas ciudades ubicadas, principalmente, en zonas costeras y en llanuras de inundación [7]. Solo en China, aproximadamente, 32 millones de personas son afectadas, anualmente, por inundaciones en los periodos que comprenden entre junio y julio [6] [3] [4]. Se estima que cerca de 500 millones de personas son vulnerables a efectos directos del cambio climático [3]. ...
El presente trabajo surgió de la necesidad de una revisión bibliográfica exhaustiva sobre infraestructura verde para el control de escorrentía, siendo que en el ámbito de la construcción verde y sostenible, es muy necesario disponer de información validada de los beneficios de este tipo de soluciones basadas en la naturaleza. Para la comunidad científica es muy valioso conocer las nuevas tendencias, las diferentes tipologías y las soluciones que pueden ser implementadas en el trópico americano o bien los vació de información científica como punto de partida de nuevos procesos de investigación y desarrollo. Como abordaje metodológico se analizaron bases de datos de Scopus y Web of Science, utilizando 1138 publicaciones científicas de todas ellas no se registró ni una sola publicación en otro idioma que no fuera inglés o chino mandarín esto por medio del paquete Bibliometrix de R. Los principales resultados obtenidos en este trabajo fueron los siguientes, eficiencia en la combinación de diferentes tipologías, falta de investigación registrada en las bases de datos consultadas para la Latinoamérica, existencia de autores de origen latinoamericano sin embargo sus investigaciones son en otras latitudes. Como conclusión general se requiere más investigación desde la región latinoamericana en idioma inglés dentro de las bases de datos más importantes.
... Many issues arising from changes in runoff processes come from human activity. NbS aim to mimic natural processes and are being introduced in many cities around the world [20]. They help decrease surface runoff by increasing infiltration, which can benefit groundwater recharge and help maintain environmental flows in dry periods [2,20]. ...
... NbS aim to mimic natural processes and are being introduced in many cities around the world [20]. They help decrease surface runoff by increasing infiltration, which can benefit groundwater recharge and help maintain environmental flows in dry periods [2,20]. Common examples of NbS include bioswales, permeable paving, green roofs and infiltration trenches [21][22][23][24]. ...
... These findings emphasise the importance of implementing multiple solutions. This supports other literature works on nature-based solution analysis [2,70,74] and the "sponge-city" concept [20,75]. ...
Featured Application
Hydrological modelling using HEC-HMS to model runoff changes associated with different nature-based solutions. The solutions implemented into the model were green roofs, permeable paving and retention ponds.
Abstract
Many regions in Europe face increasing issues with flooding and droughts due to changing rainfall patterns caused by climate change. For example, higher rainfall intensities increase urban flooding. Nature-based solutions (NbS) are suggested as a key mitigation strategy for floods. This study aims to address and mitigate the challenges faced in Tivoli natural park in Ljubljana regarding high peak discharges and low-flow issues in the creek entering the sewer system. The study involves setting up, calibrating and validating a Hydrologic Engineering Centre–Hydrologic Modelling System (HEC-HMS) model using available data. This study analyses NbS, such as small ponds, green roofs and permeable paving, to reduce peak discharge. Runoff was reduced by an average of 32.4% with all NbS implemented and peak discharge by 20 L/s. Permeable parking performed best, with an average runoff reduction of 6.4%, compared to 4.8% for permeable streets and 5.9% for green roofs. The ponds reduced peak discharge, although their effectiveness varied between rainfall events. Rainfall events with higher volumes and durations tended to overwhelm the proposed solutions, reducing their effectiveness. The ability of HEC-HMS to model NbS is also discussed. The curve number (CN) parameter and impervious % alterations to simulate NbS provided quantitative data on changes in runoff and discharge.
... The most notable green infrastructure utilisation in Asia is the sponge city concept. The initiative emerged as the Chinese government's flood mitigation strategy, which had been a significant issue in China since 2006 by affecting more than 150 cities and causing a financial loss of more than RMB 160 billion Chan et al., 2018). with 16 nominated cities as pilot projects, which later on expanded to 14 other cities. ...
... with 16 nominated cities as pilot projects, which later on expanded to 14 other cities. As specified by the guideline, the target is to increase the land area which can absorb surface water discharges by approximately 20% and to reserve approximately 70% of urban stormwater by 2020; and subsequently reuse up to 80% of stormwater by 2030s (Chan et al., 2018). ...
Law No. 17/2019 declared that the main objective of Indonesia’s national water resources management is one that is managed in a comprehensive, integrated, and environmentally conscious manner, with the purpose of establishing justice and the welfare for the people. Not only stating if the national water resources management must be environmentally conscious, but the law also defines conservation as one of the efforts required for water resources management. Thereby, in the interest of carrying out the formulation and implementation process of water resources management as defined by the law, currently the Directorate General of Water Resources has included water resources conservation as one of its thirteen general policies. Even so, these conservation and environmentally conscious efforts can be found in the operational strategies, goals and performance indicators. Aims: This study was aimed to obtain additional insights can be benefited for the formulation and implementation process in Indonesia. Methodology and results: Corresponding to the recent development in water resources management strategies which have begun to lead into the direction of nature-based solutions, or popularly also known as green infrastructure, this study conducts a literature review on the utilization of green infrastructure as water resources management strategies in several other countries. Conclusion, significance and impact study: Directorate General of Water Resources’ strategic planning document for the year 2020-2024 also indicates if the objective of Indonesia’s national water resources management is still focusing on grey infrastructure, particularly the construction of multipurpose dams.
... The concept of a Sponge City involves designing urban areas to absorb rainwater like a sponge, rather than allowing it to run off [10]. This approach, which includes methods like Low Impact Development (LID) and green infrastructure, aims to mitigate urban flooding by slowing the expansion of impermeable surfaces and improving drainage networks. ...
... Chan, Faith Ka Shun et al. (2018) highlighted permeable pavements, artificial wetlands, and other LID elements, demonstrating that permeable pavements, though not the most attractive, are highly effective for reducing runoff by 80-90% at a low cost. Additional infrastructure like green roofs and bio-swales also enhance ecological diversity and promote water infiltration, purification, and storage [10]. Lancia, Michele et al. (2020) focused on the hydrogeological aspects of sponge city development in Shenzhen, China. ...
The recent increase in urbanization has led the Ahmedabad city to rapid increased impermeable surface area. These transformed areas have altered the natural hydrology. As a result of which many areas are facing severe flooding, runoff pollution, water-environment deterioration and ecological damage. Traditional storm water management methods are not capable of completely meeting the goals of sustainable urban development. Thus this study aims to explore and evaluate the new concept of 'Sponge City'. Sponge City is a new concept of urban storm water management, which provides a natural and low impact way to manage storm water. The study aims to identify a particular micro-catchment area and assess the runoff it produces. Additionally, it will examine the use of Sponge City technology to mitigate urban flooding. The objective is to enhance the permeability of the catchment area, allowing for improved rainwater absorption and a reduction in total runoff. Area located in between New Vadaj and Naranpura ward of Ahmedabad city in Gujarat is of one such urban catchment taken up for the reconnoiter. This area is facing problem of waterlogging during every rainy season. Using geo-informatics tools the characteristics of the Study area and catchment area are evaluated. Subsequently, runoff calculations done for the study area under consideration. Various features of sponge city have been studied and indicated though digitization by the using geo-informatics tools. Sponge city concept has been applied to this catchment with variations of different features. The sponge city feature application has shown ability to reduce 60% to 80% of runoff generated in catchment area.
... China's Sponge City initiative, launched in 2014, is one of the most ambitious national-level green infrastructure programs [9]. As the term implies, these cities are designed to function like a large sponge, capable of absorbing, storing, and purifying rainwater. ...
As urbanization accelerates, parking lots lead to stormwater runoff and localized flooding due to impervious layers and inefficient drainage. This case study evaluates stormwater management strategies across four parking lots in Debrecen, Hungary, to propose effective retrofitting solutions. The methodology combines visual site assessments with a comparative analysis of global best practices identified in the literature. Findings suggest integrating Green Infrastructure (GI) and Low Impact Development (LID) principles into parking lot design can enhance infiltration and significantly reduce surface runoff. Key recommendations include utilizing nearby vegetated depressions and replacing conventional concrete slabs with permeable surfaces. Beyond the flood avoidance, these strategies aim to reduce pressure on the local sewer system and minimize puddle formation.
... Indeed, cool materials can maintain lower surface temperatures in cities, thus mitigating UHI and reducing thermal stress for pedestrians [20]; greenery, such as trees or grassland, is instead able to lower air temperatures due to evapotranspiration [21,22] and to reduce the severity of flooding [23]. Therefore, past studies investigated how to insert cool materials and greenery in urban areas or buildings [24], e.g., cool and green roofs and facades [25][26][27], and outdoor spaces, e.g., cool urban paving and green areas and trees [28][29][30][31]. Moreover, studies have highlighted the suitability of green strategies to simultaneously mitigate heat stress and flooding [32,33], providing evidences of the co-benefits these solutions can provide. ...
... A key component of this model is the integration of green-blue infrastructure with urban hydrological systems. This includes solutions such as green roofs, parks, infiltration trenches, and retention tanks, which can reduce flood risks by 30-50% compared to traditional sewer systems (Chan et al., 2018;Zhang et al., 2019;Czerpak and Widomski, 2024). ...
... Traditional urban spatial planning often falls short in terms of integrating stormwater control, ecological restoration, and water resource protection [4]. Recognizing this, China launched the sponge city initiative in 2013 [5,6], promoting integrated measures such as infiltration, detention, storage, purification, reuse, and discharge to enhance urban resilience to extreme climates [7]. To date, sponge city construction has been piloted in 30 cities and expanded to over 100 others [8], becoming a key strategy in global urban stormwater management [9,10]. ...
Mountainous cities are especially vulnerable to flooding and water quality degradation due to surrounding steep terrain, variable precipitation, and fragile ecosystems. Existing studies often rely on small-scale scenario simulations or computationally intensive optimization algorithms, limiting their practical application. This study proposes a spatial layout strategy for stormwater management tailored to mountainous environments, using the Xining sponge city pilot area as a case study. Based on the “source–sink” theory, flood risk was assessed at the district scale, and the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was applied to evaluate four Low-Impact Development (LID) deployment schemes. A novel indicator—the source–sink coupling optimization degree (SSCOD)—was introduced to quantify LID spatial coordination between source and sink zones and identify optimal configuration thresholds. Results show that the four LID allocations significantly reduce runoff and improve water quality compared to the no-LID baseline. Analyses also reveal diminishing returns: optimal LID performance occurs when SSCOD ranges from 0.345 to 0.423, with 24.24–24.41% of LID facilities placed in high-risk zones. Beyond this range, effectiveness plateaus or declines, leading to potential resource waste. The proposed framework provides a technical basis and practical strategy for guiding stormwater infrastructure planning in mountainous cities, balancing effectiveness with resource efficiency.
... In recent years, sustainable approaches such as the sponge city (SC) concept as part of nature-based solutions (NBS) aim to improve stormwater management in urban settings. The SC framework focuses on the absorption, retention, and utilization of stormwater runoff to improve urban water resource management and resilience [13] by integrating natural, semi-natural, and engineered elements [14]. By incorporating permeable surfaces and vegetated green spaces, SC initiatives not only facilitate effective water storage but also help to capture water during dry periods [15]. ...
Rapid urbanization in Karachi, Pakistan, has resulted in increased impervious surfaces, leading to significant challenges, such as frequent flooding, urban heat islands, and loss of vegetation. These issues pose challenges to urban resilience, livability, and sustainability, which further demand solutions that incorporate urban greening and effective water management. This research uses remote sensing technologies and Geographic Information Systems (GISs), to analyze current surface treatments and their relationship to Karachi’s blue-green infrastructure. By following this approach, we evaluate flood risk and identify key flood-conditioning factors, including elevation, slope, rainfall distribution, drainage density, and land use/land cover changes. By utilizing the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), we develop a flood risk assessment framework and a comprehensive flood risk map. Additionally, this research proposes an innovative Sponge City (SC) framework that integrates nature-based solutions (NBS) into urban planning, especially advocating for the establishment of green infrastructure, such as green roofs, rain gardens, and vegetated parks, to enhance water retention and drainage capacity. The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted policies and stakeholder engagement strategies to implement sustainable urban greening practices that address flooding and enhance the livability of Karachi. This work not only advances the theoretical understanding of Sponge Cities but also provides practical insights for policymakers, urban planners, and local communities facing similar sustainability challenges.
... A Scopus search for articles featuring "environmental wellbeing" or "environmental well-being" in titles, abstracts or keywords within the ten years to 2024 (with no geographical restriction) delivered 684 results, while a more focused search on UK-based research since 2017 yielded 95 results. However, both searches covered a disparate set of issues -the most-cited papers being a study of the circular economy (Murray, Skene, and Haynes 2017) and research on flood risk management in China (Chan et al. 2018). We draw on both sets of literature in this article, although the most relevant material arose from the narrower search. ...
... Starting with a demonstration or pilot phase, often cited as a way to reduce the risks of failure, can increase the likelihood of attracting investors and securing funding for subsequent project phases or replicate the approach in other locations (Schilling & Logan, 2008;Toxopeus & Polzin, 2021). The urban wetland parks implemented under China's Sponge City Program proved successful and were followed by pilot initiatives in 30 selected Chinese cities (Chan et al., 2018). ...
Despite the increasing recognition of the critical role that nature-based solutions (NBS) play in urban resilience, decision-makers in many cities across the Global South continue to prioritize grey infrastructure and engineered solutions. This prevailing approach may offer short-term economic advantages but ultimately falls short in ensuring the long-term sustainability and resilience of communities facing the challenges of a changing climate. This article aims to identify the main enabling factors that foster the application and implementation of NBS in cities, through a detailed analysis of urban NBS case studies. For this reason, the research focused on grey literature, providing insights into real-world implementation and identified 52 case studies through a thorough review of web databases and relevant publications on NBS case studies, supplemented by a web-based questionnaire distributed to identify additional cases. A qualitative methodology was employed to analyse the data collected for each case, covering various phases of each project, including planning, delivery, and stewardship. The findings indicate that enabling the implementation of urban NBS in the Global South requires attention to four key dimensions: good governance, financial feasibility and economic sustainability, social acceptance, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, the results highlight the importance of cross-cutting pathways emerging from these dimensions, such as adopting an integrated, context-specific, and data-driven approach in planning and implementation, enabling mechanisms for participatory approaches and multi-stakeholder engagement, planning for the delivery of multiple benefits by NBS, and prioritizing NBS in urban land acquisition and management policies.
... (17) Similar ecological models include the low impact developments in the United States, the sustainable urban drainage systems in the United Kingdom, the water sensitive urban design in Australia and the low impact urban design and development in New Zealand. (18) The unique aspect of the Chinese concept of the sponge city is to manage storm water in a sponge like manner by absorbing, storing and purifying water in soils, lakes and vegetation (Fig. 1). Sponge city is capable of restoring urban ecologies and rebuilding urban hydrological systems. ...
... Other large-scale projects, such as the Xiaolangdi Dam on the Yellow River, play crucial roles in flood control and water regulation. Numerous smaller reservoirs and multipurpose dams across China support regional water management needs, providing a vital buffer against extreme weather events [18]. ...
Flooding remains a persistent challenge in China, attributed to its diverse geography, rapid development, and changing climatic conditions. This article offers a comprehensive account of China's flood prevention strategies, highlighting both infrastructural measures, such as dams and urban drainage systems, and non-structural strategies, including early warning systems, land use planning, wetland restoration, and community preparedness. The discussion extends to national policies, such as the Flood Control Act and the Sponge City Initiative, along with localised governance efforts that have enhanced China's ability to manage flood risks effectively. Despite these initiatives, challenges persist due to climate change, socio-economic disparities, and the increasing occurrence of extreme weather events. Rising sea levels, intensified rainfall, and accelerated urban growth exacerbate vulnerabilities, thereby necessitating sustainable and adaptive strategies. The paper underscores the importance of integrating green infrastructure, promoting inclusive governance, and fostering international collaboration to achieve long-term flood resilience. By analyzing China's successes, limitations, and future directions, this review provides valuable insights for flood-prone regions globally, emphasising the need for a holistic and adaptive approach to flood management.
... Urbanization, known to reduce infiltration capacity, leads to increased runoff and subsequent flooding during rainfall events. This phenomenon has prompted the development of concepts like the "sponge city" (Jiang, 2018;Shun, 2018) and numerous mitigation measures (Pearlmutter, 2021). Rainfall, land-use, soil texture and soil moisture conditions are factors affecting infiltration that vary spatiotemporally. ...
... With the increasing traffic volume, economic development, and evolving climate environment, road engineering has gained growing attention as a crucial component of urban infrastructure to ensure synchronized enhancement of its service performance and urban construction [1][2][3][4]. In 2012, China introduced the concept of "sponge city" for managing urban stormwater [5][6][7]. ...
In order to alleviate the issues of insufficient bearing capacity of the porous asphalt pavement and the relatively poor adhesion ability between the mineral aggregates and the asphalt, and to lower the cost of the high‐viscosity modifiers, this study successfully develops two novel HVMs—HVM‐1 and HVM‐2—by incorporating adhesive resin, SBS, and additive. The optimal asphalt aggregate ratio is determined through mix design using commercial TPS and SINOTPS as control groups. The road performance of high‐viscosity asphalt mixtures is evaluated through relevant tests on aging resistance, high‐temperature stability, low‐temperature cracking resistance, water stability, and water permeability. The results demonstrate that the addition of the novel HVMs effectively retards asphalt aging. All four modifiers significantly improve the road performance of the asphalt mixture; notably, HVM‐1 modified asphalt mixture exhibits exceptional high‐temperature performance and water stability while HVM‐2 modified asphalt mixture demonstrates excellent low‐temperature performance surpassing or comparable to TPS‐ and SINOTPS‐modified asphalt mixture, respectively. Furthermore, cost analysis reveals that self‐produced HVMs offer savings of up to 40% compared to SINOTPS and TPS modifiers, respectively, highlighting their significant application potential and economic benefits.
... Research indicates that risk perception is influenced by social, economic, and political factors, complicating the implementation of universal solutions. In this regard, initiatives such as China's "Sponge City" concept offer new perspectives for adapting urban areas to flood risks [7][8][9]. Although this concept has demonstrated positive impacts on urban planning, its applicability in other regions remains uncertain due to regulatory, climatic, and infrastructural constraints [10,11]. ...
Floods represent one of the most significant global risks, threatening human lives, infrastructure, and economic development. Although various strategies for flood water management have been developed, their effectiveness and applicability vary depending on geopolitical, economic, and climatic factors. This systematic review aims to analyze and critically assess existing mechanisms and programs focused on industry engagement in flood risk reduction and flood water management. Through a comprehensive literature review, key strategies have been identified, including nature-based solutions such as blue-green infrastructure, technological innovations in flood prediction, and regulatory frameworks designed to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sectors. Special attention is given to the limitations of previous research, including methodological shortcomings, the lack of empirical evidence on the long-term effects of strategies, and challenges in implementing existing policies. The findings highlight the need for an integrated approach that combines technical, regulatory, and socio-economic solutions for more effective flood risk reduction. This study contributes to academic and practical discussions by providing a comprehensive analysis of current strategies and offering guidelines for future research.
... China's Sponge City initiative was launched in 2014 due to increasing urbanization, frequent flooding, and water pollution. Rapid urban development has replaced natural landscapes with impermeable surfaces, reducing the capacity of cities to absorb and manage stormwater (Chan et al., 2018). The 2012 Beijing flood, which caused 79 deaths and significant economic losses, underscored the need for a new approach to urban water management (Repnikova, 2019). ...
Accra, the capital city of Ghana, has been plagued by perennial flooding due to rapid urbanization, poor drainage systems, Lack of planning, and low law enforcement. The Sponge City Concept (SPC), initiated in China, has shown good promise as a sustainable solution to these challenges by integrating natural water management systems into urban design. This paper explores the potential of Sponge City development in Accra as a solution to the lost rightful approach to addressing the flood situation in Accra, drawing lessons from China's experiences and global best practices. The study employs primary and secondary data sources. Primary data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions, and consultations with key stakeholders in the field. Secondary materials were obtained from government reports, and reputable academic databases, including but not limited to Elsevier, Springer Nature, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar. The historical context of flooding in Accra, the conceptual framework of Sponge Cities, and the challenges and opportunities for implementation are discussed to provide insight. By adopting Sponge City principles, Authorities stand a very high chance of mitigating flooding, enhancing water resource management, and promoting sustainable urban development, as it is in sync with the UN SDGs as part of global efforts to reach sustainable Urbanization, Environment protection, and improved climate resilience. Learning from China's experiences and global best practices, Accra can develop a localized Sponge City model to suit Accra’s peculiar case and address its hydrological and urban development challenges.
... Implementing SUWM measures includes soil permeabilisation, strategic flora distribution, urbanisation density, spatial planning considerations (including the location and type of activities), the proximity of constructions to watercourses, the establishment of 'recycled water factories,' drainage system types, and the delineation of 'blue' and 'green' zones. These measures embody actions that intricately connect spatial planning with urban water cycle management (Domene & Saurí, 2006;Ferguson et al., 2013a;Gober et al., 2013;Chan et al., 2018). ...
The burgeoning population and rapid urbanisation, combined with the impacts of climate change, pose new challenges for cities. Specifically, the way cities adapt to the impacts related to water encounters significant challenges that present threats to public safety and property. The city's adaptation to these transformative forces requires collaboration among diverse institutions, namely between water utilities and spatial planning authorities. This article analyses interviews with officials from cities actively involved in climate change adaptation and experts from international water-related missions to better understand the barriers, drivers, and tools associated with that collaboration. The findings outline that collaboration among the mentioned agencies can be enhanced by addressing barriers such as inconsistencies between urban water and planning master plans and the lack of training for technical staff. This would better respond to drivers like political initiatives and the implementation of national policies, while also optimising tools such as collaborative design between the urban water and spatial planning sectors. The article provides valuable insights for researchers and stakeholders at both national and local levels, empowering them to establish a more cohesive relationship between territorial management entities and the urban water cycle.
... cycle paths, roads and highways), public spaces and plazas ). Stormwater management was the prominent target ES where green-grey infrastructure connectivity is explored within the literature (Drosou et al. 2019;Chen et al. 2021;Huang 2023), with implementation of related approaches evident in countries including Indonesia (Drosou et al. 2019) and China (Chan et al. 2018;Leng et al. 2020) linked to urban flood management initiatives (Chen et al. 2021). This review also identified that green-grey infrastructure connectivity is associated with achieving biodiversity conservation and sustainable urban design goals (e.g. ...
Context
Urban green infrastructure (GI) multifunctionality is widely valued within the academic literature, and underpins calls from policy makers to enhance and expand GI resources. However, there is a gap in understanding concerning how GI connectivity and size influence GI multifunctionality outcomes.
Objectives
The objectives are to: (1) present the current status of research on urban GI multifunctionality (encompassing ecosystem services and disservices) and the GI traits of connectivity and size; (2) identify relationships between these topics within the literature; (3) provide research insights and present actionable GI planning recommendations based on the findings of the research.
Methods
A systematic review of 139 academic sources (2010–2023) was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines.
Results
Key findings include that multifunctionality themes are more commonly considered within research exploring GI connectivity across urban boundaries than within them, where a wider range of flows of ecosystem functions and associated services (and disservices) are enabled. Also, research predominantly focuses on multiple large GI sites, with limited attention to the multifunctionality of single small GI sites that are commonly found in dense urban areas.
Conclusions
Greater consideration is needed of how the manipulation of GI size and connectivity influence multifunctionality outcomes, whilst also recognising the threat of ecosystem disservices emerging as a result of such actions. Through uncovering gaps in understanding concerning these issues, and highlighting topics benefiting from stronger research foundations, this research can support GI policy, practice and research in realising GI multifunctionality outcomes in urban settings, whilst minimising ecosystem disservices.
... Other than the Form-Based Code mentioned earlier, the Sponge City Initiative is a significant example of the function of formulating the urban pattern language across different urban elements and scales. Sponge City uses ecological design to slow down rainwater drainage through urban infrastructures to prevent flooding and promote sustainability (Chan et al., 2018). The Sponge City design exemplifies how urban pattern language can extend beyond morphological descriptions to encompass performance-driven urban design strategies. ...
The urban form is a foundational element in urban analytics, planning, and design. However, systematic and consistent depiction of urban form is challenging due to the complexity of urban elements and the variety of scales involved. This paper formalizes the concept of 'urban pattern language' as a multi-scalar analytical approach to decode such complexity, drawing on Christopher Alexander's idea that offers solutions for recurrent design problems observed in historic and contemporary urban settings. This analytic approach is applied to two case study cities to explore how urban forms can be decoded and communicated across scales and demonstrate how urban morphological elements can be systematically organised into recognisable patterns that simplify analysis and enhance understanding. The findings show that these patterns are not arbitrary but follow struc-tured, rule-based relationships that vary across scales, revealing an underlying order within the urban form. Finally, the study illustrates that these rules are unique to each city, potentially reflecting specific cultural, historical, and spatial contexts. By identifying city-specific, multi-scalar patterns, this framework offers a powerful framework for urban planning and design, allowing practitioners to develop adaptable and context-sensitive strategies.
... To reduce urban flooding risks and restore urban water ecology, governments worldwide have made policy decisions, such as the Low Impact Development (LID) in the United States [4] and Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) in Australia [5]. In 2015, the Chinese government issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting Sponge City Construction", and cities across China have vigorously advanced the development of sponge cities [6], emphasizing the role of garden plants as green infrastructure. While the importance of flood-tolerant garden plants is increasingly acknowledged, current research primarily focuses on physiological mechanisms [7][8][9] and molecular responses [10,11], with a limited emphasis on their practical applications in urban landscapes and ecological restoration. ...
With the intensification of global climate change and urbanization, extreme rainfall and urban flooding have become increasingly frequent, making the flood tolerance of garden plants a key issue in urban landscaping and ecology. Identifying research progress and development trends in the waterlogging tolerance of garden plants, as well as selecting waterlogging-tolerant species, is a core strategy for advancing urban ecological development. This study employed the Web of Science database to conduct a systematic search using subject, title, and keyword criteria. After excluding irrelevant studies through full-text reviews, 164 articles were selected. Using bibliometric analysis, the research systematically reviewed relevant literature published over the past 21 years on waterlogging tolerance in landscape plants, both domestically and internationally, analyzing research trends and hotspots, while summarizing the physiological and molecular responses of garden plants in flood-prone environments. The research indicates significant differences in flood tolerance among different species of garden plants. The main research directions include morphology, physiology, molecular biology, ecology, cultivation, and species selection, with molecular biology emerging as a key area of development in recent years. Furthermore, in the context of global climate change, this study identifies 50 flood-tolerant plants with high ecological value, and proposes guidelines for selecting flood-tolerant species. It concludes by discussing future research directions in flood tolerance and the potential applications of these plants in urban landscaping, sponge city construction, and ecological restoration.
... Urbanization has spurred substantial economic growth, but concurrently imposed considerable strain on urban infrastructure. The challenges faced by urban areas are exacerbated by climate change [1,2], with extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts [3], heatwaves [4], and other risks to human health and environmental justice becoming increasingly prevalent [5][6][7][8]. Green infrastructure (GI) has emerged as a potent strategy to mitigate climate change's impacts. ...
Climate change represents a paramount challenge for humanity in the 21st century. Green infrastructure (GI), due to its myriad environmental and societal benefits, has emerged as an essential natural life support system and a pivotal strategy to combat climate change-induced risks. Consequently, GI has garnered considerable global interest. As of now, comprehensive and systematic environmental impact assessments of GI are underway worldwide. Nonetheless, there remains a conspicuous scarcity of life-cycle approaches to delineate the evolutionary trajectory of this domain. Employing three bibliometric software tools—the R language “Bibliometrix” package (version 4.0.1), CiteSpace (version 6.2.R2 Basic), and “VOSviewer” (version 1.6.18)—this study scrutinizes the progression of the GI paradigm until 2022. An exhaustive review of 1124 documents published on the Web of Science between 1995 and 2022 facilitates an overarching evaluation of GI, encompassing environmental, economic, and social facets from a life-cycle standpoint. The analysis results reveal that (1) the majority of current studies accentuate the economic and environmental efficacy of GI throughout its life cycle, with the social performance receiving comparatively less focus, potentially due to the difficulties in formulating a social life-cycle-assessment database; (2) contemporary research predominantly concentrates on the life-cycle carbon footprint of GI, warranting further exploration into its water and carbon footprints; and (3) multi-objective optimization emerges as a promising avenue for future GI investigations. This review thus furnishes a comprehensive understanding of the performance of GI from a life-cycle perspective.
... Moreover, global climate extremes, including exceptionally high temperatures, marine heatwaves, and heavy precipitation, are anticipated to intensify extreme rainfall events, further contributing to urban waterlogging disasters. The concept of sponge cities has emerged as an effective approach to mitigate urban waterlogging issues, enabling cities to flexibly adapt to environmental changes [7][8][9][10]. Conducting urban runoff simulations and waterlogging analysis is of great significance for reducing flood disasters. ...
Urban flooding disasters are increasingly prevalent because of global climate change and urbanization. University campuses, as independent functional zones, exhibit complex rainfall–runoff dynamics. This study focuses on the China University of Geosciences, using data from two extremely heavy rainfall events and on-site waterlogging investigations in Wuhan in 2020 and 2021. A stormwater management model was employed to simulate campus catchment runoff and pipe network performance under rainstorm scenarios of various return periods, illustrating the spatial and temporal evolution of waterlogging on the campus. The simulation results indicate that the discharge at the main outlets aligned with rainfall patterns but exhibited a delayed response. During an overload period exceeding one hour, the ratios of overflow nodes and overloaded conduits reached 72.22% and 57.94%, respectively. Ponding was concentrated mainly in the southwest region of the campus, with the maximum ponding depth reaching 0.5 m. Future flood mitigation measures, such as enhancing permeable surfaces, upgrading pipeline infrastructure, and promoting rainwater reuse, could support the development of a “sponge campus” layout to alleviate flood pressure and enhance campus sustainability and resilience.
The public–private partnerships (PPP) mode is very popular in public infrastructure projects. The PPP model for sponge city construction (SCC) provides an effective way to curb and manage the increasingly serious ecological water problems in China. The quantitative evaluation of value for money (VFM) is an evaluation method that obtains quantitative values through a certain calculation process. However, the current studies lack a dynamic quantitative evaluation of VFM for the entire life cycle of SCC PPP projects, and cannot observe the impact of key factors on the VFM value. By constructing a system dynamics (SD) model for the VFM quantitative evaluation of SCC PPP projects from the perspective of the whole life cycle, this study can intuitively and transparently observe the impact of key factors (such as discount rate and profit margin) on the evaluation results and feasibility of adopting a PPP model in the project, offering policymakers a tool to mitigate the risks of “Pseudo-PPP” projects. After collecting cases in Anhui province from the China PPP Center, this study constructed a life cycle VFM quantitative evaluation system dynamics model suitable for SCC PPP projects that consist of the public sector comparison (PSC) value and PPP value. The results indicate that the system dynamics model can be effectively applied to the dynamic quantitative evaluation of SCC PPP projects and clarify the influence degree on and sensitivity of various factors to the VFM value. Specifically, when the discount rate increases, the decrease in the PPP value is greater than that in the PSC value, leading to an increase in the VFM value. Moreover, a reasonable profit margin is more sensitive to the VFM value and decreases as the reasonable profit margin increases. In addition, choosing different availability service fee calculation methods will result in varying the adjustment range to a reasonable profit margin that drives the adoption of VFM quantitative evaluation. These research findings have provided a viable dynamic research methodology for the quantitative VFM evaluation of SCC PPP projects. This methodology enables the dynamic visualization and easy determination of the acceptable ranges for relevant factors, offers rational policy recommendations for the quantitative evaluation of key factor values, and thereby effectively prevents PPP project violations, promoting fair and reasonable cooperation between governments and private enterprises.
Urbanization has significantly transformed ecological landscapes and created challenges in sustaining both environmental functionality and cultural values. In response, China’s Sponge City Infrastructure (SPI) aims to enhance urban water resilience by integrating green and blue infrastructure. While the ecological benefits of SPI have been widely studied, the cultural ecosystem services (CES) it provides remain underexplored. This study systematically reviews 61 empirical articles to evaluate how CES has been addressed in SPI-related research. Bibliometric analysis was conducted to identify CES research trends and to systematically categorize CES types, assessment methods, and evaluation indicators in SPI-related studies. The findings reveal a dominant use of non-monetary assessment methods, led by questionnaire surveys (47.5%), while monetary approaches were rarely applied. However, several limitations were identified, including the geographic concentration of studies in a few major cities, the scarcity of research on abstract CES categories (e.g., inspiration and sense of place), and the lack of measurable indicators in nearly half of the reviewed studies. To address these issues, this study proposes a context-specific CES assessment framework aligned with China’s socio-cultural conditions and planning priorities in sponge city development. The framework, based on the reviewed literature, provides a preliminary tool for evaluating CES in sponge city contexts. This work contributes to the integration of cultural ecosystem services into urban ecological planning and offers insights for sustainable development in rapidly urbanizing regions.
Cette enquête socioécologique interroge le paradigme de la sobriété foncière à partir de deux friches bruxelloises : le Marais Wiels et la Friche Josaphat. Leur aménagement, présenté par les pouvoirs publics régionaux comme une nécessité sociale dans un contexte de crise de l’accès au logement, comme une alternative à l’étalement urbain et comme une intégration de solutions fondées sur la nature face aux défis climatiques, implique pourtant la destruction de milieux de vie résurgents, habités par des communautés et populations d’espèces autres qu’humaines, mises en évidence par les habitant-e-s et les naturalistes. Ces résistances écosophiques locales font valoir des attachements au territoire en conflit avec un modèle de gouvernementalité écologique qui tend à maximiser les services économiques et écosystémiques rendus par ces espaces. Ces friches apparaissent dès lors comme des territoires sentinelles où s’expriment les tensions et frictions relatives à l’affectation des sols urbains.
Despite increased understanding and adoption of nature‐based solutions (NBSs) within urban and coastal areas, large‐scale NBS for fluvial flood mitigation remain challenging to study and implement. A stronger evidence base is needed to identify critical research gaps and to best inform the design and deployment of NBS on the watershed scale. We synthesize evidence of the performance and co‐benefits of NBS for fluvial flood mitigation based on a systematic review of 131 peer‐reviewed papers worldwide, developing an Ecosystem Focus Type (EFT) to compare flood mitigation across large‐scale NBS. While we find that NBS can mitigate fluvial floods across all EFTs, our study also highlights that inconsistencies in measurement methods, a dearth of empirical case studies, and large variability in reported values limit generalization and comparison across NBS. Co‐benefits for fluvial flood NBS are numerous, but few are quantified, and study methods vary with regard to specific NBS. Social benefits of NBS, including benefits to communities most in need of support, are infrequently part of these studies. There is a clear need to develop common design and performance standards for large‐scale NBS and for guidance on which measures are key to consider and monitor for flood mitigation and co‐benefits. The success of large‐scale NBS for fluvial flood mitigation will depend on research and practice guided by transdisciplinary systems thinking approaches that can deliver evidence‐based, community‐driven outcomes.
In an increasingly urbanized world, urban biodiversity is people’s
primary contact with nature. However, as cities expand and densify,
urban green and blue spaces and their biodiversity are under pressure,
risking declines in urban liveability. This Review discusses the benefits
of urban biodiversity and the multiple challenges it faces, and identifies
opportunities and pathways towards developing sustainable, biodiverse
cities for both humans and nature. The substantial biological richness
that urban areas can harbour helps to mitigate environmental pressures,
address and adapt to climate change, and benefits human health and
well-being. However, urban biodiversity is challenged by competition
for space, human pressures and the declining engagement of urban
residents with nature. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of
both the benefits and challenges of urban biodiversity informs efforts
to create and maintain high-quality urban blue–green infrastructure.
Biodiversity-sensitive and socially inclusive urban governance and urban
planning are key to developing biodiverse, green cities. Urban policies
should move towards cross-sectional approaches that coordinate
planning for biodiversity and green spaces with sectors such as health,
education, urban planning and design. Developing cities as shared
environments for humans and nature contributes to global biodiversity
conservation and offers solutions to the social and environmental
challenges increasingly faced by cities.
Increased demands for land use in urban development have reduced the extent of open water bodies in recent decades, leading to more frequent extreme flows in urban rivers. Urban nature-based solutions, such as constructed wetlands, have the potential to provide significant water management benefits if implemented on a large scale, well-maintained, and used sustainably. However, their actual benefits in urban water systems have not been adequately evaluated, and the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. These limitations hinder the effective planning of the integration methods for constructed wetlands. To assess the water management benefits of constructed wetlands at the catchment scale, this study analyses river flow data collected before and after wetland construction in Enfield, London. The Water Systems Integrated Modelling (WSIMOD) framework is used to simulate the integrated catchment water cycle, and the constructed wetlands module is conceptualised and included in the WSIMOD to evaluate their interactions within the urban catchment water cycle. Scenarios are designed to assess the impacts of varying configurations and sizes of the wetlands on the river flow. The findings indicate that constructed wetlands are observed to attenuate river flow peaks and increase low flows. Constructed wetlands reduce the frequency of river flow peaks at the catchment scale; results show that in the case of Enfield, converting 1% of the catchment area to wetlands can decrease high flows (10% exceedance probability) by 18–23% and increase low flows (90% exceedance probability) by 35–50%, reducing the flashiness of the urban water cycle. Incorporating wetlands arranged in parallel exhibits superior performance in attenuating flow peaks compared to wetlands arranged in series, as the wetlands placed in parallel can provide more space to store rapidly generated runoff. The results quantified the effects of constructed wetlands on high and low flows in the urban water system, using the WSIMOD to provide recommendations on wetland connection modes for decision-making.
The global urban population is increasing at an alarming rate, and is estimated to be 66% of the world’s total population by 2050. As per the World Bank, the urbanisation pattern in the cities of South Asia is largely unplanned and messy, with expected growth in urban population up to 250 million by 2030. It has been observed that massive land use change that occurred due to unplanned urban growth has already destroyed the natural resources in and around the cities of South Asia, resulting in many environmental problems like urban flood, drinking water scarcity, groundwater depletion, traffic congestion etc. All these are inextricably intertwined with global environmental issues that is, climate change, air and water pollution, and biodiversity loss. Moreover, the cities are going to face more challenges in sustainable development with an increasing urban population, as projected by the United Nations (UN). To overcome such challenges, it is the need of the hour to understand the fragility of the natural system and to value and invest in ecosystem goods and services. The concept of Blue- Green Infrastructure (BGI), a network of designed and natural landscapes covering the blue elements, viz. ponds, rivers, wetlands etc. and the green elements, viz. trees, gardens, playgrounds, forests etc., is considered as a nature-friendly measure to manage urban flood, improve water and air quality, preserve biodiversity etc. In this study, the scopes of Blue-Green Infrastructure for a sustainable urban future are explored based on the analyses of the environmental issues of South Asian cities like Karachi, Dhaka, Bengaluru, Guwahati and so on.
South Africa is a leader in the scholarship on green urbanism in the Global South, but academic progress has not translated to broad implementation. Notably, government-subsidized housing projects have produced peripheral developments featuring low build quality, conventional gray infrastructure, and deficient socio-economic and environmental amenities. Declining delivery and increasing informal settlement spawned a 2014 shift to housing megaprojects to increase output and improve living conditions, socio-economic integration, and sustainability. The shift offered opportunities for a normative focus on greener development mirrored in the discourse surrounding project descriptions. Yet, the level of enactment has remained unclear. In reflecting on these points, this paper employs environmental justice as a theoretical framework and completes a comprehensive review of the academic literature on housing megaprojects and the depth of their greener development commitments. A three-phase, seven-stage review protocol retrieves the relevant literature, and bibliometric and qualitative content analyses identify publication trends and themes. Results indicate limited scholarship on new megaprojects with sporadic and superficial references to greener development, mostly reserved for higher-income segments and private developments. In response, this paper calls for more determined action to launch context-aware and just greener megaprojects and offers corresponding guidance for research and practice of value to South Africa and beyond.
Hydroclimate volatility refers to sudden, large and/or frequent transitions between very dry and very wet conditions. In this Review, we examine how hydroclimate volatility is anticipated to evolve with anthropogenic warming. Using a metric of ‘hydroclimate whiplash’ based on the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, global-averaged subseasonal (3-month) and interannual (12-month) whiplash have increased by 31–66% and 8–31%, respectively, since the mid-twentieth century. Further increases are anticipated with ongoing warming, including subseasonal increases of 113% and interannual increases of 52% over land areas with 3 °C of warming; these changes are largest at high latitudes and from northern Africa eastward into South Asia. Extensive evidence links these increases primarily to thermodynamics, namely the rising water-vapour-holding capacity and potential evaporative demand of the atmosphere. Increases in hydroclimate volatility will amplify hazards associated with rapid swings between wet and dry states (including flash floods, wildfires, landslides and disease outbreaks), and could accelerate a water management shift towards co-management of drought and flood risks. A clearer understanding of plausible future trajectories of hydroclimate volatility requires expanded focus on the response of atmospheric circulation to regional and global forcings, as well as land–ocean–atmosphere feedbacks, using large ensemble climate model simulations, storm-resolving high-resolution models and emerging machine learning methods.
This study explores the interrelationship between urban mobility and stormwater management, proposing integrated solutions to increase the resilience of cities to flooding. The research, with a qualitative approach, combines a literature review and case studies in global and Brazilian cities, analyzing mobility and drainage infrastructures, as well as strategies for dealing with extreme climate events. The study addresses the interaction between urban mobility and water management, traditionally treated separately, and offers guidelines for integrated urban planning. In a context of accelerated urbanization and climate change, the results show that soil sealing by transport infrastructures aggravates urban flooding, and that existing drainage infrastructures are inefficient, with significant stormwater pollution. Proposals include green infrastructure, advanced stormwater management technologies, nature-based solutions and sustainable mobility policies to reduce flooding and improve the quality of urban life. Encouraging public transportation and preserving green areas are essential strategies for urban resilience, promoting a sustainable vision of urban planning.
Water cycle resilience represents a vital part of sustainable water resources management for a region with severe water vulnerability issues. However, despite their importance, a current lack of systematic monitoring mechanisms has contributed to an insufficient grasp of their distribution in relation to water resources management practices, as well as their vulnerability to climate change and human impacts. This study develops a nature-society water cycle resilience index that integrates recover and supplement to water vulnerability, which is applied in the case study of China. The results indicate that the comprehensive level of water cycle resilience in China has been constantly improving in the past two decades, whilst varies significantly among provinces in water resources management performance and serious vulnerability issues. This study provides useful references for countries or large-scale regions around the world to promote resilience and sustainability in water resources planning and policy.
Waterlogging is one of the major water issues in most cities of China and directly restricts their urbanization processes. The construction of Sponge City is an effective approach to solving the urban water issues, particularly for the waterlogging. In this study, both the urban issues emerged at the stage of rapid urbanization in China and the demands as well as problems of Sponge City construction related with the water issues were investigated, and the opportunities and challenges for the Sponge City construction in the future were also proposed. It was found that the current stormwater management focused on the construction of gray infrastructures (e.g., drainage network and water tank) based on the fast discharge idea, which was costly and hard to catch up with the rapid expansion of city and its impervious surface, while green infrastructures (e.g., river, lake and wetland) were ignored. Moreover, the current construction of Sponge City was still limited to low impacted development (LID) approach which was concentrated on source control measures without consideration of the critical functions of surrounding landscapes (i.e., mountain, river, wetland, forest, farmland and lake), while application of the integrated urban water system approach and its supported technologies including municipal engineering, urban hydrology, environmental science, social science and ecoscape were relatively weak and needed to be improved. Besides, the lack of special Sponge City plan and demonstration area was also a considerable problem. In this paper, some perspectives on Good Sponge City Construction were proposed such as the point that idea of urban plan and construction should conform to the integral and systematic view of sustainable urban development. Therefore, both the basic theoretical research and the basic infrastructure construction such as monitoring system, drainage facility and demonstration area should be strengthened, meanwhile, the reformation and innovation in the urban water management system and the education system should also be urgently performed. The study was expected to provide a deeper thinking for the current Sponge City construction in China and to give some of suggestions for the future directions to urban plan and construction, as well as urban hydrology discipline.
Cost-benefit analysis is demanded for guiding the plan, design and construction of green infrastructure practices in rapidly urbanized regions. We developed a framework to calculate the costs and benefits of different green infrastructures on stormwater reduction and utilization. A typical community of 54,783 m² in Beijing was selected for case study. For the four designed green infrastructure scenarios (green space depression, porous brick pavement, storage pond, and their combination), the average annual costs of green infrastructure facilities are ranged from 40.54 to 110.31 thousand yuan, and the average of the cost per m³ stormwater reduction and utilization is 4.61 yuan. The total average annual benefits of stormwater reduction and utilization by green infrastructures of the community are ranged from 63.24 to 250.15 thousand yuan, and the benefit per m³ stormwater reduction and utilization is ranged from 5.78 to 11.14 yuan. The average ratio of average annual benefit to cost of four green infrastructure facilities is 1.91. The integrated facilities had the highest economic feasibility with a benefit to cost ratio of 2.27, and followed by the storage pond construction with a benefit to cost ratio of 2.14. The results suggested that while the stormwater reduction and utilization by green infrastructures had higher construction and maintenance costs, their comprehensive benefits including source water replacements benefits, environmental benefits and avoided cost benefits are potentially interesting. The green infrastructure practices should be promoted for sustainable management of urban stormwater.
Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are increasingly recognised as vital components of urban flood risk management. However, uncertainty regarding their hydrologic performance and lack of confidence concerning their public acceptability create concerns and challenges that limit their widespread adoption. This paper investigates barriers to implementation of BGI in Portland, Oregon, using the Relevant Dominant Uncertainty (RDU) approach. Two types of RDU are identified: scientific RDU's related to physical processes that affect infrastructure performance and service provision, and socio-political RDU's that reflect a lack of confidence in socio-political structures and public preferences for BGI. We find that socio-political RDU's currently exert the strongest negative influences on BGI decision making in Portland. We conclude that identification and management of both biophysical and socio-political uncertainties are essential to broadening the implementation of BGI and sustainable urban flood risk management solutions that are practical, scientifically sound, and supported by local stakeholders.
Growing concern on climate-related flood hazards has led to increasing interest in understanding the interactions between climate, flood, and human responses. This paper jointly investigates climate change trends, impacts on flood events, flood vulnerability and risk, and response strategies in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), a rapidly urbanizing coastal area in southeast China. Our analysis based on a reanalysis dataset and model projections are integrated with literature results, which indicates a climate scenario of increasing mean temperature, precipitation, sea level, typhoon intensity, and the frequency of extreme weather events in the PRD. These trends, together with the continuing urbanization in flood-prone areas, are expected to increase flood frequency and aggravate both the scale and degree of flooding in the PRD area. We further estimate the flood vulnerability of the 11 PRD cities using the indicator system method. The results suggest that the exposure and sensitivity of central cities (Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou) are very high because of highly exposed populations and assets located in lowland areas. However, the potential vulnerability and risk can be low due to high adaptive capacities (both by hard and soft flood-control measures). A novel framework on flood responses is proposed to identify vulnerable links and response strategies in different phases of a flood event. It further suggests that the flood risks can be mitigated by developing an integrated climate response strategy, releasing accurate early warning and action guidance, sharing flood-related information, and applying the advantages of online social network analysis.
China has experienced enormously rapid development since the open door policy introduced in 1979. Population has increased by 30% to 1.3 billion, and the annual GDP growth rate was 9.8 % in the last few years. However, frequent water disasters in recent years have caused significant damages to China's regional growth and societies. There are huge contemporary challenges for Chinese water resource management. In this paper, we examine three major challenges for China's water resource management, which are water scarcity, water pollution and flood management. We discuss some of China's past management strategies and its future water management plans which come with major new investment. China will be further developed during this century and we provide some thoughts on water resource management that could be undertaken in China to increase resilience in face of a capricious future.
Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal.
Natural capital (NC) is crucial to human existence and human well-being. Evaluating ecosystem services on a regional scale has presented tremendous theoretical, methodological and policy challenges. This study addresses the challenges by developing an interdisciplinary methodology, based on expert knowledge, and by focusing on the Yangtze River Delta of China. It evaluates the stock of NC, analyzes the characteristics of, and identifies the key drivers for, spatial and temporal change in NC in the deltaic region from 2000 to 2010. A main contribution is the novel incorporation of remote sensing data that explains the dynamics of the spatio-temporal change in land use and a set of ecosystem service indicators derived from it. The study focuses on key indicators for key ecosystem services related to carbon sequestration, grain production and water supply. The indictors reflect the spatial heterogeneity of NC across diverse ecosystems in the region. Each indicator builds on land use configuration and land use composition information derived from 250m 16-day MODIS and Landsat TM remote sensing data for 2000 and 2010, with adjustment parameters being constructed. The regional evaluation shows an overall degradation of ecosystem services, reducing total NC by 10.4% (or 8.44 billion yuan) in 2000-2010. The spatial distribution of NC exhibits a declining pattern from the south to the north of the delta. At the city level, 15 out of 16 major cities in the region have experienced dramatic loss of NC, and this pattern is significantly correlated with rapid urbanization, population growth and industrialization. Land use/land cover change and deteriorating water quality are dominant factors causing NC depletion, while increased grain productivity and environmental policies help offset the NC losses. Outcomes of this research are useful to policy makers to mitigate the declines in NC through balancing the growth between economy and population.
The scientific literature has documented the growing risks of flooding posed for Asia’s coastal cities by the combination of climate change, as reflected in sea level rise and intensified storms and storm surges, and ongoing urban growth in low-lying coastal zones. These issues were already elaborated in the 2007 IPCC (IPCC, 2007) reports but recent studies indicate that climate change, sea level rise and the sinking of the deltas on which most Asian mega urban regions have arisen, are all occurring at much faster rates than earlier projected and therefore pose even greater risks than previously indicated. Global warming appears to be accelerating and may increase to 4° C or more by the end of this century, twice the earlier IPCC projections. The sea level is now expected to rise by one meter or more by 2100; two or three times the earlier projections. The recent typhoons and rains striking Southeast Asia have been the most intense in decades as would be expected as a result of global warming. At the same time, Asia’s urban population is increasing at the rate of 140,000 per day, with much of this growth occurring in low-lying coastal regions and on deltas characterized by land subsidence that is further contributing to flooding risks. While these risks and vulnerabilities have been increasingly detailed in the scientific literature, recognition and effective responses on the part of the urban planning and policy community have been slow to develop. Barriers to adaptation, policy formation and response are reviewed and possible steps forward are outlined.
This paper summarizes the urban water management framework that China's central government has adopted to manage the supply of water to the country's urban areas. These laws, policies and institutional arrangements cover water resources management, urban planning and environmental management issues. This paper considers the application of this framework in three urban areas: Beijing, Shanghai and Shaoxing Prefecture in Zhejiang Province. These case studies are used as the basis of a discussion on the ways that the framework could be enhanced, both structurally and in terms of its implementation.
Non-point sources of pollution are difficult to identify and control, and are one of the main reasons that urban rivers fail to reach the water quality objectives set for them. Whilst sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are available to help combat this diffuse pollution, they are mostly installed in areas of new urban development. However, SuDS must also be installed in existing built areas if diffuse loadings are to be reduced. Advice on where best to locate SuDS within existing built areas is limited, hence a semi-distributed stochastic GIS-model was developed to map small-area basin-wide loadings of 18 key stormwater pollutants. Load maps are combined with information on surface water quality objectives to permit mapping of diffuse pollution hazard to beneficial uses of receiving waters. The model thus aids SuDS planning and strategic management of urban diffuse pollution. The identification of diffuse emission 'hot spots' within a water quality objectives framework is consistent with the 'combined' (risk assessment) approach to pollution control advocated by the EU Water Framework Directive.
The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone is one of the most developed regions in China. It has been undergoing a rapid urbanization since the reformation and opening of China in 1978. This process plays a significant impact on the urban environment, particularly river water quality. The main goal of this present study is to assess the impact of urban activities especially urbanization on river water quality for the study area. Some Landsat TM images from 2000 were used to map the areas for different pollution levels of urban river sections for the study area. In addition, an improved equalized synthetic pollution index method was utilized to assess the field analytical results. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between the rapidity of urbanization and the pollution levels of urban river water. Compared to the rural river water, urban river water was polluted more seriously. During the urban development process, urbanization and urban activities had a significant negative impact on the river water quality.
The “China Dream” is an “Urban Dream”. Urbanization is an inevitable requirement for promoting social progress. The Chinese government sees sustainable urbanization as an engine of modernization and economic growth. And the country's urbanization has followed a unique course and is perhaps the greatest human-resettlement experiment in the world history, unprecedentedly transforming the Chinese society in a very short period of time. Yet problems have arisen during the historical process, China's unique path to urbanization has avoided many of pitfalls existing in the developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America. This paper attempts to conclude the good jobs as well as problems in China's urbanizing process which might provide successful experience for the underdeveloped nations and regions to promote urbanization. The most brilliant achievement of urbanization in China is that thousands of years' agriculture-dominated country has ended and a new urbanized country has formed, which only consumed several decades. The country's urban infrastructure, living conditions and public service for urban residents have made great improvements. The fostering urban agglomerations are considered to lead the country's socio-economic transformation and possess the greatest potential for the urbanization and economic growth in the coming decades. In general, the traditional land-centered urbanization in China is a typical “incomplete urbanization” and “low-quality urbanization”, presenting impressive characteristics of “four highs and five lows”—high investment, consumption, emission and expansion, and low level, quality, harmony degree, inclusiveness and sustainability. Undoubtedly, the traditional urbanization of China is increasingly difficult to continue and the transformation process should be speeded up as soon as possible. The country should actively explore a people-oriented new-type urbanization way, i.e. an intensive, efficient, rural-urban integration, harmonious and sustainable urbanization model.
As a result of global climate change, urban flooding has become a global concern in recent years because of its significant negative impacts on cities. To cope with the frequent occurrence of urban flooding in recent years as well as water shortages, China has started a new nationwide initiative called Sponge City intended to increase urban resilience. This study aimed to examine public perceptions of and knowledge about urban flooding and sponge city construction, as well as the public’s willingness to support sponge cities through two options, which includes (1) paying a domestic water fee surcharge and (2) buying government-issued credit securities. We found that most respondents knew about urban flooding and sponge cities, and also supported sponge city construction. Residents believed that government grants and public-private partnerships (PPP) should be the main financial sources for sponge city construction. However, respondents also accepted 17% of the domestic water price as a surcharge to be used for sponge city construction. Meanwhile, the willingness to pay (WTP) for government-issued credit securities for sponge city construction was 55% of the average annual capital surplus. We also found that occupation, education, and income were the main factors affecting respondents’ WTP to support sponge city initiatives. Though increasing water prices by a certain amount will be acceptable to the public, a more properly designed PPP model should be considered and promoted by the government to overcome financial insufficiencies and ensure the sustainability of the sponge city initiative.
This article introduces the concept of sustainable urban drainage as defined by a range of guidelines for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, Low Impact Development, and Water Sensitive Urban Design. The aims of the approach are discussed with specific reference to flood risk management and water quality management. A description is given for the types of infrastructure that can be used to control runoff production in source areas; transport and utilize water in a sustainable manner; and improve surface water quality before it is allowed to enter the local water course. The design, implementation, and maintenance of such systems are also discussed along with a review of how such guidelines are being implemented around the world.
Delta cities are increasingly exposed to the risks of climate change, particularly to flooding. As a consequence, a variety of new spatial development visions, strategies, plans and programmes are being developed by city governments in delta regions to address these risks and challenges. Based on a general conceptual framework, this paper examines the nature of visions, strategies, plans and programmes in the delta cities of Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Rotterdam which are highly exposed to flooding and connected through a network of epistemic communities. The paper follows two main lines of inquiry. First, it examines the terms, concepts, and dominant institutional characteristics associated with the development of these visions, strategies, plans and programmes as a way of constructing a conceptual framework for understanding and explaining their connectivity. Second, it explores how and why cities’ spatial plans and governance dynamics are shaping climate adaptation responses. The systematic development of conceptual frameworks and in-depth analyses of varied, representative case studies is needed as their findings have important implications for vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in terms of policy options and cities as the optimal level for adaptation. The paper finds that dominant institutional characteristics critically affect the steering capacity of organisations/agencies (including their coordination capacity) to address climate-related risks. The findings have important implications for vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in cities, in general and delta cities, in particular.
Torrential rainfall associated with the 23rd Typhoon Fitow in 2013 hit the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China, resulting from mutual effects of residual low pressure cyclonic circulation of Fitow and the 24th Typhoon Danas, which imposed great challenge to forecasters. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to simulate the rainstorm under the background of binary typhoons of Fitow and Danas. Three sensitivity experiments of typhoon intensity changes of binary typhoons were carried out. It was found that the Typhoon Danas was the main factor in this torrential rain event, in which its accompanied strong eastward low-level jet was the major moisture conveyor belt through which the warm and moist air was brought into the heavy rainfall zone and the static instability was maintained and enhanced over the YRD. The convergence line formed by periphery easterly flow of Typhoon Danas and southward cold air, together with the local frontogenesis mainly due to convergence, was an important trigger factor of this rainstorm. The large scale forcing was the major uplift mechanism, and the underlying frontal uplift played a secondary role for rainstorm in the north YRD, while uplift mechanism for rainstorm in the southern YRD is mainly local underlying frontal uplift induced large CAPE release resulting in local strong buoyancy uplift that led to strong upward motion. Not only did the convergence of twin typhoons directly provide dynamic conditions for the rainstorm, but also the dynamic lifting was enhanced by binary typhoons through strengthening the coupling of upper-level and low-level jet. The sensitivity tests revealed that the rainstorm in YRD was sensitive to both typhoons' intensity, and the rainfall in the south YRD was more sensitive than that in the north. A conceptual model of YRD rainstorm under binary typhoon situation was proposed based on the above-mentioned factors.
Low impact development (LID) is generally regarded as a more sustainable solution for urban stormwater management than conventional urban drainage systems. However, its effects on urban flooding at a scale of urban drainage systems have not been fully understood particularly when different rainfall characteristics are considered. In this paper, using an urbanizing catchment in China as a case study, the effects of three LID techniques (swale, permeable pavement and green roof) on urban flooding are analyzed and compared with the conventional drainage system design. A range of storm events with different rainfall amounts, durations and locations of peak intensity are considered for holistic assessment of the LID techniques. The effects are measured by the total flood volume reduction during a storm event compared to the conventional drainage system design. The results obtained indicate that all three LID scenarios are more effective in flood reduction during heavier and shorter storm events. Their performance, however, varies significantly according to the location of peak intensity. That is, swales perform best during a storm event with an early peak, permeable pavements perform best with a middle peak, and green roofs perform best with a late peak, respectively. The trends of flood reduction can be explained using a newly proposed water balance method, i.e., by comparing the effective storage depth of the LID designs with the accumulative rainfall amounts at the beginning and end of flooding in the conventional drainage system. This paper provides an insight into the performance of LID designs under different rainfall characteristics, which is essential for effective urban flood management.
Shenzhen is one of the special economic zones in China. It has been growing rapidly from rural land to an industrial city since the mid-1980s. With the process of urbanization, flooding has become a threat to the security of the city area. In this study, Buji River basin in Shenzhen Region was selected to investigate the effect of urbanization on surface runoff and peak discharge. Land use data were obtained from LANDSAT images in 1980, 1988, 1994, and 2000, and surface runoff in the same period was simulated by SCS model. Results showed that urbanization played an important factor intensifying the flood process. Increase of urbanized land and decrease of farmland might be the main reasons for increasing runoff. At 10%, 50% and 90% rainfall probability (the rainfall probability of 10% means 10-year return period of moist year, 2-year return period of normal year and 10-year return period of dry year), the increase of runoff coefficient was 12.6%, 20.7% and 33.5% respectively under relatively dry soil moisture condition, however, and the value was 2.5%, 4.3% and 6.9% respectively under relatively wet soil moisture condition. Urbanization led to obvious increase in the maximum flood discharge and decrease in runoff confluence time. At 1%, 2% and 5% rainfall probability, the increase of the maximum flood discharge was 20.2%, 23.0% and 28.9% respectively, under relatively dry soil moisture condition. The corresponding value was 1.3%, 1.6% and 2.6% respectively under relatively wet soil moisture condition. Due to urbanization in the past 20 years, runoff coefficient increased 13.4% and the maximum flood discharge increased 12.9% on average.
This paper presents field monitoring results from a 235 m(2) extensive living roof in Auckland New Zealand (NZ) The extent of stormwater control is quantified by comparing three different substrate types (Pumice Zeolite and Expanded Clay all pumice based but named for their distinguishing components) at two different substrate depths (50 and 70 mm) in a side-by-side comparison No statistically significant differences in runoff response were found between the three substrate types tested or the two different depths The cumulative retention efficiency of the living roof was 66% based on 12 months of continuous monitoring On an event basis the living roof demonstrated reductions in both volume and peak flow rates regardless of the rainfall and climatic characteristics The living roof retained a median of 82% of rainfall received per rainfall event with a median peak flow reduction of 93% compared to rainfall intensity The hydrologic response of a living roof is controlled by multiple parameters such as rain depth rain intensity climatic variables and antecedent dry days Detailed analysis indicates that antecedent dry days have the greatest influence on retention Seasonal differences do not influence runoff response living roofs will effectively moderate runoff hydrology year round in Auckland s sub-tropical climate (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved
Preparedness, early warning, and emergency management all contribute to flood risk mitigation and are closely linked to risk perception and communication. Risk perception and communication of decision-makers considerably influence their approach to risk mitigation strategies and therefore have a great impact on institu- tional coping capacity and/or vulnerability. This PhD dissertation investigates flood risk perception and communication amongst key institutional stakeholders involved in flood risk management in the different cultural settings of China and Germany. Using qualitative social research methods, this study aims at: first, understanding the discrepancies of risk per- ceptions between different actors; second, identifying flood risk communication features among flood risk management organizational units and between risk management and the general public; third, comparing the perception and com- munication characteristics in different cultural contexts; and finally, analysing how differences are embedded in culture and exploring the potential of cross cultural transferability of good practices and its implementation with consideration of cultural diversity.
Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) is a recent planning and design philosophy in Australia primarily used to minimise the hydrological impacts of urban development on the surrounding environment. As local governments plan and regulate the bulk of public and private infrastructure and development, they are key participants in the implementation of WSUD. However, according to research conducted involving 38 municipalities in Melbourne, Australia, the implementation of WSUD is inconsistent across the metropolitan area. The mixed methods research comprised a survey of municipal officers, interviews with the officers and mayors, and a review of municipal accountability documents. The results revealed a strong municipal commitment to WSUD in areas bounded by the coast or where the natural vegetation exceeds 50% of the municipal area. Furthermore, these committed municipalities tended to coincide with communities of higher wealth and population. Overall, the analysis revealed three types of municipalities – high, partial, and limited commitment – that are indicated by a variation in environmental values, demographic and socio-economic status, local organised environmentalism, municipal environmental messages, and intergovernmental disposition. This paper argues for policy reform for WSUD, as it is largely sympathetic to the highly committed municipalities, and highlights the need to enable the participation of publics in the municipalities of limited and partial commitment by linking WSUD to greater public concerns and building commitment through diverse policy interventions.
Flooding was recognized as the severest natural hazard in ancient China. Chinese people have accumulated abundant experiences in fighting against flood disasters for millennia. In the past half century, flood control capacity has improved due to the large-scale construction of a flood control engineering system, which plays an important role in ensuring the rapid socio-economic development. However, because of climatic fluctuation and human activities, significant changes to the flood control situation are taking place in China. In the new century, the flood control system has to face a series of challenges, and the flood management strategies must be adjusted accordingly.
This study aims to raise the level of attention paid to surface water management issues in spatial planning and urban development processes. In the case of cities located in alluvial river plains, surface water bodies may occupy large areas but severe ecological and environmental consequences can arise if they are given insufficient weight in the planning and development processes. After discussing in general terms some of the connections between surface water bodies and urban land use we specifically examine the situation in Wuhan, one of the largest cities in China, which has many surface water bodies in its urban region. We measure and analyse land use changes between 1993 and 2004 to lakes and shallow water bodies and their riparian areas using data derived from detailed land use surveys of the city. Our results show that urban expansion has had a significant impact on Wuhan's surface water bodies and their riparian zones. The reduction, disappearance and pollution of surface water may contribute to the undervaluation of water bodies, thereby increasing the likelihood of further impacts taking place. An integrative and proactive land use planning and management system at regional strategic level and local action level is considered to be essential if surface water systems are to be conserved and improved. Increased recognition of their societal and ecological value should be reflected in more detailed attention to the spatial requirements of water bodies and riparian areas in urban planning policies.
Numerous drivers are providing stimulus for increased water cycle localisation within urban neighbourhoods. This paper uses predominantly Australasian case studies to highlight trends, successes and challenges in the transition to neighbourhood centred water-based services using 'Low Impact' and 'Water Sensitive' design and development techniques. Major steps towards urban sustainability are demonstrated, for example, up to 70% reduction in the demand for potable water (Aurora, Melbourne), removal of contaminated stormwater and sewage effluent discharge to natural waterways vulnerable to nutrient or toxin accumulation, and up to 55% of the area of the greenfield site planted in indigenous species (Regis Park, New Zealand). Reduced demand for potable water would enable continued undiluted use of 'pure' water sources from limited bush catchments (Waitakere Ranges, New Zealand), and less dependence on rivers stressed by low flows. Reductions and dispersion of sewage effluent discharges protects receiving waters, such as Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne, from eutrophication. Reduced stormwater discharge favours retention of the natural hydrological regime of rivers and minimises bioaccumulation of toxins in aquatic ecosystems.
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