China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Practice of source treatment
Published in Xiaoling Lei, Bo Lu, Integrated Water Environment Treatment, 2021
As the name suggests, sponge city refers to a city that could be functioned as a sponge that has great “resilience” in adapting to environmental changes and coping with natural disasters, such as to absorb water, store, infiltrate and purify water when it rains and to “release” and utilize the stored water as needed. In the sponge city construction, the principle of ecology priority shall be followed to combine natural approaches with artificial measures, and on the premise of ensuring the safety of urban drainage and waterlogging control, the retention, storage, infiltration and purification of stormwater in the urban area shall be realized to the greatest extent, so as to promote the stormwater resource utilization and eco-environmental protection. During the sponge city construction, the natural precipitation, surface water and groundwater systems shall be taken into overall consideration, the water supply, drainage and other water recycling links shall be coordinated, and the complexity and long-term performance shall also be taken into account.
Smart city renewable development management
Published in Henry K. H. Wang, Renewable Energy Management in Emerging Economies, 2020
City planning experts have proposed that major cities in future should combat these floods by transforming themselves into “green sponge cities”. The general idea is that a modern sponge city can better utilise its wetlands and wet areas, such as marsh, swamps or shallow ponds as well as green spaces and floodplains, to absorb large amounts of water before the flood water would flood and submerge the streets in the city. City planning experts predicted that if cities could reconsider the power of their wetlands and other natural infrastructure, then it would be possible for new sponge city designs to help modern cities to protect themselves better from the growing risks of urban floods caused by climate change and global warming. Good city flooding examples include many cities in Thailand that have suffered flooding regularly during monsoon season. In 2011, Bangkok suffered serious major flooding and it was estimated to have costed damages of some USD41 billion.
Adaptive Landscapes for Coastal Restoration and Resilience in Contemporary China
Published in Elizabeth Mossop, Sustainable Coastal Design and Planning, 2018
Mary G. Padua, Stanley Lung Wai Cham
According to the English translation of the State Council's literature for the construction of sponge cities, the program initiative “promotes water resilient, low impact development integrated with urban planning and construction, allowing cities to function much like a sponge by absorbing rainwater that mitigates flooding while also storing and purifying water to meet future needs” (Yong et al., 2017). A sponge city in this regard refers to sustainable urban development including flood control, water conservation, water quality improvement, and natural ecosystems protection. The intention is that the retro-fitted water system for the city would absorb, store, filter, and purify stormwater, and release it for reuse when needed (Li et al., 2017).
Performance of pervious concrete influenced by typical properties of recycled concrete aggregate and suggestions for practical use
Published in Road Materials and Pavement Design, 2023
Wenshen Liu, Hongru Zhang, Zongyan Chen, Ji Tao, Xiao Zhang, Baojun Zhao
Impervious cement concrete and asphalt concrete has covered most urban road surface in China, which has hindered the natural hydrological processes and break the water cycle, thereby leading to a series of problems including urban waterlogging, urban heat island, ground water level decline and even fatal disasters in some cases (Azad et al., 2019; Elizondo-Martínez et al., 2020; Hainin et al., 2019; Li et al., 2012; Lu et al., 2019; Opiso et al., 2019; Tang et al., 2019; Zhou et al., 2019). In light of this, the idea of ‘sponge city’ which aims at promoting the water absorption and storage capacity of the city ground was raised and has drawn increasing attention during recent years (Chen & Gao, 2019; Hu et al., 2019). Pervious concrete (PC), which is characterised by its special skeleton-pore structure and allows easy and fast water transport via the connected pores (Dai et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2019a), has already been widely used in the construction of ‘sponge city’ since 1970s (Dai et al., 2020; Lang et al., 2019; Rios et al., 2019; Xie et al., 2020).
Engaging professionals in urban stormwater management: the case of China’s Sponge City
Published in Building Research & Information, 2020
Xiaohuan Xie, Shiyu Qin, Zhonghua Gou, Ming Yi
Sponge City emphasizes urban stormwater management strategies that help to disperse surface runoff through natural infiltration, purify water quality through biological pathways and enhance rainwater reuse by means of centralized water storage (Xia et al., 2017; Xiang, Liu, Shao, Mei, & Zhou, 2019). Professionals’ engagement and advocacy can directly impact the implementation and the effectiveness of the Sponge City initiative, which should be considered in the formulation of relevant policies to support the initiative. This paper aims to learn from the opinions of relevant professional practitioners and strengthen publicity and engagement in the process of implementing Sponge City. In particular, this paper involves practitioners who are engaged in Sponge City projects, aiming to (1) understand the professional’s motivation in advocating for sponge cities; and (2) understand their professional opinions on implementing the sponge measures.
“Beautiful solutions”: The business case for city resilience
Published in Construction Research and Innovation, 2019
Another example given in the report is the Sponge City programme in Wuhan, China, which was established when research revealed that the number of Chinese cities in danger of flood damage had more than doubled since 2008. Wuhan faces intense rainfall that overwhelms the urban drainage system, putting its population of 12 million at risk. The name Sponge City refers to the innovative solution of creating green public spaces to absorb storm water. Arcadis has supported the Wuhan Water Authority in assessing plans and projects in two pilot districts. More than 300 projects are planned over three years, with the goal of managing 60% of the rainwater. The report points out that not only is Wuhan safer, but the solution is also making the city more attractive and liveable, increasing quality of life and inspiring investment.