Re-Thinking Urban Flood Management—Time for a Regime Shift

TLDR

Urban flooding is increasingly problematic due to densification, land‑use changes, and climate change, and conventional single‑purpose drainage, dams, and levees are known to raise long‑term flood risk and damage riverine ecosystems. This paper proposes a new concept for urban flood resilience that moves beyond traditional resilience theory and identifies collaborative management opportunities to address contemporary challenges. The concept promotes synergy between enhanced stormwater runoff capacity and improved urban environmental quality, and outlines research needs and experiments focused on system flexibility, energy efficiency, land‑use optimization, transport and socioeconomic integration, climate impacts, infrastructure protection, and responsibility allocation.

Abstract

Urban flooding is of growing concern due to increasing densification of urban areas, changes in land use, and climate change. The traditional engineering approach to flooding is designing single-purpose drainage systems, dams, and levees. These methods, however, are known to increase the long-term flood risk and harm the riverine ecosystems in urban as well as rural areas. In the present paper, we depart from resilience theory and suggest a concept to improve urban flood resilience. We identify areas where contemporary challenges call for improved collaborative urban flood management. The concept emphasizes resiliency and achieved synergy between increased capacity to handle stormwater runoff and improved experiential and functional quality of the urban environments. We identify research needs as well as experiments for improved sustainable and resilient stormwater management namely, flexibility of stormwater systems, energy use reduction, efficient land use, priority of transport and socioeconomic nexus, climate change impact, securing critical infrastructure, and resolving questions regarding responsibilities.