Transformation towards resilient sponge cities in China

Chan, Faith Ka Shun; Chen, Wendy Y.; Gu, Xinbing; Peng, Yi; Sang, Yan‐Fang

doi:10.1038/s43017-021-00251-y

Cited by 33 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…These disasters are prone to causing serious damage to the coastal urban system, and it takes a long time to recover [135]. Under such circumstances, there is an increasing demand for post-disaster loss assessment and restoration assessment, namely resilience, which can be used as a means to deal with the disaster risk of urban systems from the perspective of disaster reduction and management [136][137][138][139]. As appeared in ecology in the 1970s, the concept of resilience is to describe the ability of a system to resist and recover from disasters [140].…”

Section: Future Research Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Developments in Sea-Level Rise and Its Related Geological Disasters Mitigation: A Review

Dong

Cao

Liu

2022

JMSE

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With the rapid development of urbanization around the world, the sea-level-rise problem is gaining more and more attention in the 21st century. Sea-level rise is the result of a combination of climate-related factors, structural factors and human activities. Recent studies related to the contributions of these factors to sea-level rise are reviewed and analyzed in this paper. The results suggest that the melting of glaciers and ice sheets have contributed the most to sea-level rise and will continue to be the dominant factor in sea-level rise for the following decades. As sea-level rise becomes an increasingly serious problem, geological disasters related to sea-level rise are also gaining more attention. To better understand the effect of sea-level rise on geological disasters, relevant issues including storm surges, seawater intrusion, the loss of coastal wetland, seismicity, seismic liquefaction and submarine mass failure are further reviewed and highlighted. In response to the risks of those disasters caused by sea-level rise, some disaster mitigation measures are proposed, and in the end, the quantitative disaster assessment concept based on resilience is introduced to the coastal urban system, to assess its ability to resist and recover from geological disasters due to the sea-level rise.

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Section: Future Research Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Developments in Sea-Level Rise and Its Related Geological Disasters Mitigation: A Review

Dong

Cao

Liu

2022

JMSE

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“…With the construction of rain gardens, bioswales, grasslands, eco‐corridors and parks as sunken detention basins, the extent of urban green space has increased; and when that green space includes substantial tree canopy, cities are also gaining the benefits of cooling and air pollutant reduction (Byrne et al, 2015). Amidst this progress, Chinese cities are also encountering extreme weather events that challenge the Robustness of gray and blue‐green infrastructure, which were designed for more moderate conditions (Chan et al, 2022).…”

Section: Progress On Bgi In Chinese Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Located on the Jialu River (a tributary of the Huai River), with a bend of the Yellow River on the northern edge of the rapidly urbanizing city, Zhengzhou joined China's Sponge City program in 2015. Zhengzhou invested nearly US$8 billion in green corridors, bioswales, green roofs, permeable pavement, constructed wetlands and other types of BGI, connected with gray drainage infrastructure (Chan et al, 2022). But in July 2021, a cloudburst rainfall event dropped 778 mm—more than a year's worth—of rain on the city in 1 day.…”

Section: Progress On Bgi In Chinese Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But in July 2021, a cloudburst rainfall event dropped 778 mm—more than a year's worth—of rain on the city in 1 day. Despite warnings from meteorologists, and despite Zhengzhou's substantial investment in BGI, 293 people died, 500 people were trapped in flooded subways, 1 million people were displaced, 12 million people impacted, and nearly half a million livestock perished in surrounding farmland, resulting in nearly US$18 billion in damages (Chan et al, 2022; Tyson, 2021). Electric power and communication systems were disrupted, complicating emergency response.…”

Section: Progress On Bgi In Chinese Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The severity of storm simply overwhelmed Zhengzhou's infrastructure and emergency preparedness. The BGI and gray infrastructure of the city had been designed for a 1‐in‐30‐year flooding event; the cloudburst event was a 1‐in‐1000‐year occurrence (Chan et al, 2022). The tragedy in Zhengzhou highlights the need for more Robust design and social adaptive capacity, along with the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to prevent more severe storms (Chan et al, 2022).…”

Section: Progress On Bgi In Chinese Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Blue‐green infrastructure for climate resilience and urban multifunctionality in Chinese cities

Siehr

Sun

Nucamendi

2022

WIREs Energy & Environment

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Climate disruption and rapid urbanization present numerous challenges to infrastructure and communities in Chinese cities, from flooding and coastal erosion, to drought and pollution. This review article focuses on the utilization of Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI)-a suite of nature-based strategies combining hydrological functions (blue) with vegetated landscaping (green)-to provide climate resilience and urban multifunctionality in China's large, high-density cities. Chinese cities are utilizing BGI in new construction, in neighborhood retrofits, and in revival of ancient nature-based infrastructure. The literature gives most attention to BGI in China's Sponge City Initiative that addresses the pluvial flooding crisis. Quantitative monitoring of BGI shows progress in stormwater-related functions and to a lesser extent with rainwater utilization to address water scarcity. Other studies document multifunctional aspects of BGI, including cooling and energy-saving functions of urban trees and green roofs, and green space expansion with parks that serve as retention basins. However, significant challenges and potential remain. China's urban infrastructure, including BGI, needs stronger design to be robust under extreme conditions as climate disruption intensifies. There is potential for BGI to more fully address habitat fragmentation, extreme heat, sea-level rise and other climate and urbanization hazards. Further research and pilot projects are needed to characterize and quantify the benefits of multifunctional BGI. More integrated planning across city sectors, with greater incorporation of ecological and social functions, will help Chinese cities achieve multiple goals: providing carbon-neutral and climate-resilient infrastructure, improving air and water quality, regenerating ecosystems, and enhancing urban quality of life.

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Are sponge cities the solution to China's growing urban flooding problems?

Zhang

Butler

2022

WIREs Water

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Nature-based solutions have been promoted as a sustainable solution for urban stormwater management and they are currently adopted at an unprecedented speed and scale to build sponge cities in China, with a primary aim to solving urban flood problems. However, there are limits to how much rainfall sponge cities can absorb, hence, they are unlikely to be a panacea for flooding problems in cities. We argue that bottom-up community-based measures are essential part of the intervention development framework that is required to transform sponge cities into flood resilient cities. This community-based approach can effectively build on the distinctive and unique feature of Chinese cities, that is, the prevalence of gated communities, which provides a solid foundation for implementing community-based measures for flood management. A range of such community-based measures including resilience mapping, property-based resistant and resilient measures, flood insurance, and social resilience building are discussed. Flood resilience building does not just mean investments in gray-green-blue infrastructure, it requires social transformation toward flood resilient communities. This article provides a roadmap for the next stage development of sponge cities which plays a key role in coping with extreme storm events and adapting to climate change in cities.

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Transformation towards resilient sponge cities in China

Cited by 33 publications

References 10 publications

Recent Developments in Sea-Level Rise and Its Related Geological Disasters Mitigation: A Review

Recent Developments in Sea-Level Rise and Its Related Geological Disasters Mitigation: A Review

Blue‐green infrastructure for climate resilience and urban multifunctionality in Chinese cities

Are sponge cities the solution to China's growing urban flooding problems?

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