To cushion the impact of extreme weather due to climate change, a Chinese landscape architect has been making the case for China and other countries to create so-called “sponge cities.” Know more:
BEIJING—To cushion the impact of extreme weather due to climate change, a Chinese landscape architect has been making the case for China and other countries to create so-called “sponge cities.”
Instead, Yu proposes using natural resources, or “green infrastructure” to create water-resilient cities. It’s part of a global shift among landscape design and civil engineering professionals toward working more in concert with the natural environment. By creating large spaces to hold water in city centers—such as parks and ponds—stormwater can be retained on site, helping prevent floods, he says.
In 2014, the central government issued a directive: Recycle 70 percent of rainwater runoff in 20 percent of urban areas by 2020, and in 80 percent of such areas by 2030. Formerly a coal ash dump site, the “Fish Tail” sponge park is built in a low-lying section of the city and intended to regulate water for surrounding neighborhoods and business districts. The fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion, was mixed with soil to create mini-islands in the lake that allow water to permeate. Fang said the mixture, held in place by plant roots, prevents the ash from flowing into the water. Whether it prevents the release of toxic elements in the ash is an open question.
Those guidelines were issued after massive rainfall and catastrophic floods in the city of Zhengzhou killed 398 people last summer. Floodwater inundated a section of the city’s subway, trapping hundreds of commuters. Rescuers flocked to the scene, but 14 people died in the subway disaster.
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