Do countries, regions, or cities understand their water system and the related spatial processes well enough to design effective spatial plans and organize management, or do they lack essential data to manage their city or region? Are urban water system processes including ecology and groundwater taken seriously in urban planning? What is the role of land subsidence in relation to sea-level rise? How seriously do short-term politicians take long-term changes?
After Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, multi-disciplinary urban design teams tried to reduce associated future risks. Based on recent studies and field visits, these teams attempt to emphasize the importance of groundwater management in the urban planning process, and to translate geomorphology, ecology and groundwater knowledge into practical advice. Until now, the subsurface and groundwater have often been neglected in urban planning processes, usually because of a lack of familiarity in government with these issues and the complexity of the invisible groundwater processes. To address some of these issues, we will compare the results of visits, studies, and workshops from U.S. and international cities that demonstrate both similarities and differences in their groundwater issues.
Participative stakeholder workshops, attended by governmental and NGO participants, can effectively demystify groundwater. Through “Learning by Drawing”, participants use maps and profiles to identify opportunities and locate problem areas, present their ideas about causes, and propose solutions, and ultimately appreciate subsurface processes and management solutions.
Results/Conclusions
Most projects are “disaster-driven.” Government and public interest often vaporizes after recovery. Many populations currently living outside the floodplain, adjacent to the rising sea, and commonly built on sinking land, exhibit a lack of concern. It takes strong politicians and community leaders to have the courage to start these long-term adaption processes. Water management and spatial planning are commonly fragmented by myriad bureaucratic entities. Administrative re-organization will be needed to address climate change risks and disasters.
In response to tidal maximums and storm peak flows, the scale of the water processes and flooding to the medium scale urban redevelopment solutions are comparable. Land subsidence also increases the threat of urban flooding. Both increase coastal flooding and runoff in rapidly developing coastal cities, exacerbated by climate and topographic changes. Planners need to sufficiently address drought, heat, wastewater discharge and storm drainage and their corresponding ecological and financial consequences. Nature-based solutions are a starting point in reducing storm and discharge flows, with the goal of implementing inland rainwater retention and storage solutions.