Episode Details

Devastating floods are becoming more and more common around the world. The warming climate is leading to heavier rainfall, but could the way that cities are growing be making things worse? Could we design cities in a different way to reduce the risk of flooding?

毁灭性的洪水在世界各地变得越来越普遍。 气候变暖导致降雨量增加，但城市的发展方式是否会让情况变得更糟？ 我们能否以不同的方式设计城市来降低洪水风险？

As cities expand, and more and more land is underneath concrete or paving, less water is absorbed and more needs to be channelled away by storm drains and sewerage systems. As they become overwhelmed by the volume of water, the risk of flash flooding increases.

随着城市的扩张，越来越多的土地被混凝土或路面覆盖，吸收的水越来越少，更多的水需要通过雨水渠和污水处理系统排出。 当它们被大量的水淹没时，山洪爆发的风险就会增加。

Could it be that we've been taking the wrong approach? Chinese landscape architect Yu Kongjian certainly thinks so. In 2013, he proposed the concept of 'sponge cities', which are designed to soak up water – like a sponge – reducing the risk of sudden floods. Natural solutions are encouraged, using riverside parks and ponds to absorb floodwater. Approaches inspired by this have been taken by cities across the world. Auckland, in New Zealand, was named the spongiest city in one study. It has replaced the concrete culverts around the Oakley creek stream with green banks and connected parks. This has reduced flooding in the nearby residential areas as well as the amount of associated contamination which used to be washed into the sea.

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