This document summarizes international experiences with water sensitive cities through case studies of 8 cities on 3 continents. It discusses the challenges of urbanization, water, climate change, and increased vulnerability facing cities. Case studies include Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, New Orleans, New York City, London, Rotterdam, and Singapore. The document outlines key elements to transition cities to become more water resilient, including analyzing vulnerabilities and opportunities, setting goals and adaptation strategies, and implementing measures through planning and action.

1. Nanco Dolman MSc BLArch
Amsterdam, 4 November 2015
Towards water resilient cities
Building on international experiences

2. 27 October 2015
Water for Enhanced Urban Liveability
 Distill international experiences for Water Sensitive Cities
 8 case studies on 3 continents
 Different positions in Water Sensitive Cities framework
 Based on project experience
 Present effectiveness, implementation and way forward
2
Bangkok
New Orleans
New York
Singapore
Rotterdam
London
HCMC
Jakarta

3. 27 October 2015
City challenges
 Today, 3.5 billion people - half of humanity – live in cities
 In 2030, 60% of the global population will live in cities
 In 2015, 80% of the megacities is located in river deltas

4. 27 October 2015
Some key challenges to urban liveability
(CRC for Water Sensitive Cities, 2012)

5. 27 October 2015
Water challenges
 90% of disasters are water-related
 Different threats
 Flooding from rivers and sea
 Disruptions from precipitation
• Storm water overwhelms the drainage system
• Periods of droughts
 Groundwater and subsidence
 Heat
5

6. 27 October 2015
Increased pressure
 Sea level rise
 Change precipitation patterns
 Longer periods of heat and drought
6
Projected Sea Level Rise (IPCC)

7. 27 October 2015
Increased vulnerability
7
Urbanization Bangkok (World Bank, 2011)

8. 27 October 2015
The case studies
 Restore imbalance of the urban water cycle
 Solutions proposed following WSUD
 Integrating water with urban planning
 In dialogue challenges can be addressed
 Smaller scale measures to restore (some of) the balance
 Disasters often initiate a response
 Understanding the drivers
 Building back smarter
 Facilitating stakeholders dialogue
 Learn from experience
8

9. 27 October 2015
Water Sensitive Cities Framework
9

10. 27 October 2015
Need for direct effective solutions
10
Bangkok/
HCMC/ Jakarta

11. 27 October 201511
Thailand: Bangkok

12. 27 October 2015
Thailand: Bangkok
 Roughly 7 million people
 Chao Phraya River, Gulf of Thailand
History
 Historicaly ‘living with water’
 Floating markets
 Houses on stilts
 Waterways filled
 Bangkok: a sewered city
Challenges
 Exponential population growth
 Increase in challenges
 Deforestation
 Subsidence
 Flood events
12

13. 27 October 201513
Bangkok: 2011 Floods

14. 27 October 2015
Bangkok: initiative
14
 ‘Bangkok Water Adaptive City 2045’
 Dialogue with city stakeholders and
universities
 Series of workshops with stakeholders
 Students from Thailand, Singapore,
Netherlands
 Opportunity for Bangkok to leapfrog to an
advanced stage of the WSC framework

15. 27 October 2015
Bangkok: proposed solutions
15

16. 27 October 2015
Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City

17. 27 October 201517
Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City
 Roughly 13 million people
 Saigon River, East (Vietnam) Sea
History
 Limited effective drainage system
 Expansion towards the sea
 Ho Chi Minh City: a sewered city
Large international plans & support
 Ho Chi Minh City Moving towards the
sea
 Mekong Delta Plan
 Struggling with implementation
 Needs are more basic

18. 27 October 2015
HCMC: Climate Change

19. 27 October 2015
Indonesia: Jakarta

20. 27 October 2015
Jakarta Flood Risk
20

21. 27 October 2015
Jakarta - NCICD
 Stage 1 Protection until 2020
 Short term coastal protection
 Stage 2 Protection until 2030
 Integrated sea dyke construction with new land
reclamation
 Stage 3 Protection until 2040
 Construction of multi-purpose sea dyke at Jakarta Bay

22. 27 October 2015
Sewered cities: lessons learnt
 First steps to explore WSUD
 Created awareness; attention for challenges and city planning
 Facilitated dialogue among stakeholders
 Governance unable to support changes
 More direct solutions required; ambition for no-regret measures
 Need for knowledge transfer and capacity building
22

23. 27 October 2015
Introducing a water sensitive approach
23
New Orleans/ New York City

24. 27 October 2015
USA: New Orleans

25. 27 October 2015
USA: New Orleans
 Katrina (2005) illustrated the vulnerability of a delta city
 Now a 100-year hurricane protection system
 Drainage infrastructure is inadequate for challenges.
 Result of drainage water management strategy
 Broken infrastructure and subsidence
 New shared approach required
 With the Urban Water Plan, New Orleans can
 address urban water challenges
 and make better use of its water assets
25

26. 27 October 2015

27. 27 October 2015
Greater New Orleans Water Management Strategy
WATER REGULARLY
OVERWHELMS SYSTEMS

28. 27 October 2015
Greater New Orleans Water Management Strategy
WATER IMBALANCE
CAUSES SUBSIDENCE

29. 27 October 2015
Greater New Orleans Water Management Strategy
WATER IS EXCLUDED
FROM MOST PUBLIC SPACES

30. 27 October 2015
Urban water strategy
30

31. 27 October 2015
Water assignment New Orleans
31

32. 27 October 2015
Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan
32

33. 27 October 2015
USA: New York City
33

34. 27 October 2015
USA: New York City
 Sandy 2012
 $50 billion damages; 2nd-costliest hurricane
 Government response; series of initiatives and strategies
 Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR)
 Green Infrastructure plan
 Rebuild by Design
 Technically sound strategies
 Strong focus on awareness; get stakeholder buy-in
 Grassroot involvement; implementation at local level
 Challenge: coherence fragmented approach
34

35. 27 October 2015
A stronger, more resilient New York
 Floods and extreme storm water surplus
Bloomberg: “A floodwall doesn’t have to be just a wall, it can be part
of an elevated park or boardwalk, and still block flood waters”.
 Enhance urban liveability - green infrastructure
Planting more trees on streets and rooftops to absorb water or
divert it to higher-capacity sewers.
35

36. 27 October 2015
Rebuild by Design
 Design competition for the Sandy-affected region
 Ten teams with the world’s best engineers and architects
 Ideas regional (and global) replicable
 Funding available to get the top ideas implemented
 An opportunity for a more overarching plan
36

37. 27 October 2015
A comprehensive urban water strategy

38. 27 October 2015

39. 27 October 201539
OMA | Royal HaskoningDHV winner Rebuild by
Design Competition

40. 27 October 2015
Integrated planning, water as asset
40
London

41. 27 October 201541
United Kingdom: London

42. 27 October 201542
Thames Estuary 2100

43. 27 October 2015
 Managing risks and increasing
resilience, the Mayor’s climate
change adaptation strategy,
October 2011
 Water society & The Blue Ribbon
Network, The London Plan 2011;
“allowing a large number of
citizens to live, work and play
safely on the water is a strategic
aim of the London Plan”
 Water ecology – green
infrastructure and open
environments: the all London
green grid, supplementary
planning guidance to the London
Plan 2012
 Water olympics – Queen Elizabeth
olympic park 2030
43
Urban green-blue grids

44. 27 October 201544
The Blue Ribbon network

45. 27 October 201545
London’s 2012 Olympic Park

46. 27 October 2015
Queen Elizabeth Olympic park 2030

47. 27 October 2015
Climate-proof planning
47
Rotterdam

48. 27 October 2015
The Netherlands: Rotterdam
48

49. 27 October 2015
The Netherlands: Rotterdam
 Rotterdam protected: 10,000 yrs level of protection
 Urban Water Plan
 Rotterdam Adapation Strategy
 5 year planning
 CBA and often checks on performance
 Several projects realized (Green Roofs program, water plazas)
49

50. 27 October 201550
Rotterdam Adaptation Strategy
 Water system under control
 Pilots are being evaluated
 Regular checks
 Need for updated CBA
 Strategy consolidated after
5 years
 Awareness
 Creates jobs
Heat risk map - 2050

51. 27 October 2015
Rotterdam Flood Control

52. 27 October 201552
Rotterdam Multifunctional barrier

53. 27 October 201553
Water plazas Rotterdam

54. 27 October 201554
Water plazas Rotterdam

55. 27 October 2015
Water plazas Rotterdam

56. 27 October 2015
Closing the urban water cycles
56
Singapore

57. 27 October 2015
Singapore
57

58. 27 October 2015
ABC Waters – Active Beautiful Clean
58

59. 27 October 201559
Bringing nature back to urban setting

60. 27 October 201560
Bring people closer to the water

61. 27 October 201561
Kallang River as concrete canal

62. 27 October 201562
Kallang River as meandering stream

63. 27 October 2015
Evaluation and effectiveness
 For every city a specific approach is required
 Different social background
 Integration of many disciplines
 Other climate effects
 Not all measures are evaluated, weighted
 For most water challenges…
 Governance is key
 Political will and community ownership is vital
 WSUD is a challenge
 Requires an event to initiate
 Requires persistence and funding
 Challenges often underestimated or not understood
63

64. 27 October 2015
Urbanization Policy Framework
Planning, Connecting, and Financing Cities—Now (World Bank, 2013)
64

65. 27 October 2015
Key elements in transitioning towards
water resilient cities
A. Analyse – urban system and its environment
 Vulnerabilities
 Opportunities
B. Aim – drawing up ambitions
 Goals and challenges
 Planning adaptation strategy
C. Act – implementation in planning & sensing
 Choosing adaptation measures
 Securing & realization in daily practice
NB; adaptation is always tailored!
65

66. 27 October 201566
Aim
Analyse Act
Strategy to implementation

67. 27 October 201567
Thank you for
your attention
Next week on UNISDR –
PreventionWeb
Q&A Water Resilient Cities;
http://www.preventionweb.net
/experts/ask/session/46333