L. Xiong
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8 records found
1
Spatial planning in the face of flood risk
Between inertia and transition
Given the greater risk of flooding in cities due to climate change, spatial planning systems are increasingly expected to contribute to flood resilience. However, incorporating expanded adaption measures in conventional planning practices remains a major challenge due to institutional barriers. Based on the theories of historical institutionalism in relation to path divergence, this paper aims to understand the factors which determine the fate of innovations and departures from established practice. Using Guangzhou as a case study, the paper traces the history of the city's struggle against flooding from the 1920s onwards, building on documentary analysis, mapping and interviews. The findings highlight a deeply rooted attachment to engineering-based solutions to tackle flood risk. It also indicates that departing from an established path to embed nature-based and non-structural solutions in the planning system is more likely to take place in response to changing socio-economic needs and strong institutional support for changes, rather than in response to major flooding events. These findings provide lessons for policymakers and urban planners seeking to enact new policies to enhance flood resilience in spatial planning.
Pearl River Delta: Scales, Times, Domains
A Mapping Method for the Exploration of Rapidly Urbanizng Deltas
Research and Design of Urban Landscapes: The Delft Approach
Interview with Dr. Steffen Nijhuis, Delft University of Technology
strategic location and superior quality of their soils are core factors supporting both human development and the rise of these regions as global economic hubs. At the same time, however, deltas are extremely vulnerable to multiple threats from both climate change and the rush to urbanization. These include an increased flood risk combined with the resulting loss of ecological and social-cultural values. The urbanization of deltas can be understood as a set of complex social-ecological systems (and subsystems), each with its own dynamics and speed of change. To ensure a more sustainable future for these areas, spatial strategies are needed to strengthen resilience, i.e. help the systems to cope with their vulnerabilities as well as enhance their capacity to overcome natural and artificial threats. In this article we elaborate a landscape based regional design approach for the adaptive urban transformation of urbanizing deltas, taking the Pearl River Delta as a case study. Based on an assessment of the dynamics of change regarding the transformational cycles of natural and urban landscape elements, eco-dynamic regional design strategies are explored to reveal greater opportunities for the exploitation of natural and social-cultural factors within the processes of urban development. Furthermore, adaptive transformational perspectives are identified to ensure reduced flood risk and inclusive socio-ecological design. ...
strategic location and superior quality of their soils are core factors supporting both human development and the rise of these regions as global economic hubs. At the same time, however, deltas are extremely vulnerable to multiple threats from both climate change and the rush to urbanization. These include an increased flood risk combined with the resulting loss of ecological and social-cultural values. The urbanization of deltas can be understood as a set of complex social-ecological systems (and subsystems), each with its own dynamics and speed of change. To ensure a more sustainable future for these areas, spatial strategies are needed to strengthen resilience, i.e. help the systems to cope with their vulnerabilities as well as enhance their capacity to overcome natural and artificial threats. In this article we elaborate a landscape based regional design approach for the adaptive urban transformation of urbanizing deltas, taking the Pearl River Delta as a case study. Based on an assessment of the dynamics of change regarding the transformational cycles of natural and urban landscape elements, eco-dynamic regional design strategies are explored to reveal greater opportunities for the exploitation of natural and social-cultural factors within the processes of urban development. Furthermore, adaptive transformational perspectives are identified to ensure reduced flood risk and inclusive socio-ecological design.
Marker Wadden, the Netherlands
A Building-with-nature Exploration