sponge city

Pattern Scale: City

Description of the Pattern: Cities structured and designed to capture rain water and utilize it to reduce floods. The “Sponge City” initiative is a Chinese national policy framework that focuses on sustainable urban stormwater management in 16 Chinese cities. In 2016, Shenzhen became a pilot city of the “Sponge City” initiative and has been working to help urban communities in Shenzhen become more resilient to urban flooding with green infrastructure. Sponge Cities utilize various techniques green infrastructure retrofits such as permeable pavements, green rooftops, bioswales and constructed wetlands at a variety of scales to reduce the intensity of rainwater runoff by enhancing and distributing absorption capacities more evenly across targeted areas. The resulting groundwater replenishment increases availability of water for various uses and serves to not only reduces flooding but also enhances water supply security. A massive project, the Sponge Cities Initiative is a collaborative effort among city regulators, property owners, and engineers. The cities of Xiamen and Wuhan have already produced effective Sponge City projects. While the initiative faces some constraints related to funding and enforcement, it initiative has an ambitious goal: by 2020, 80% of urban areas should absorb and re-use at least 70% of rainwater.

Biophilic Cities Journal Profile: Vivin Qiang & Xin “Fish” Yu (Nov. 2019). The Green Cloud Project: Finding Green Space in an Urban Village (Shenzhen, China). Biophilic Cities Journal. Vol. 3, No. 1.

Research:
Bao-Jie He et al. (July 2019). Co-benefits approach: Opportunities for implementing sponge city and urban heat island mitigation. Land Use Policy. Vol. 86: 147-157.

Matt Jenkins (April 2, 2020). Sponge City: Shenzhen Explores the Benefits of Designing with Nature. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Who Submitted this Pattern: Kevin Kask, Biophilic Cities