Flood protection

The urban development project between Little Lungegård Lake and Big Lungegård Lake (Store Lungegårdsvann) involves the creation of a canal between the two lakes as a means of runoff management, among other things. Water quality and flood protection are fundamental issues that are considered in this project as the city is expecting increased levels of precipitation due to climate change. The rest of the urban area will be transformed into an attractive modern city centre area with water as the most important element (Ref 1, 4).

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is endorsing - Edinburgh Adapts - the city’s first climate change adaptation action plan as a demonstration site of the ClimateXChange project. The 2012 persistent heavy raining incident brought flooding and damage to beds, lawns and paths at RBGE. A study is being carried out to see the impact of weather events on their gardens and how this can be used to best deal with projected climate change. Horticulture and visitor services staff at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and its Regional Gardens are already adapting to climate uncertainty. (ref 2, 3)

The Braid Burn is a highly urbanised watercourse that has been significantly modified to improve drainage. Prior to re-meandering of the Braid burn, it was constrained in a narrow, brick-lined channel with little character, offering a poor habitat and possessing low species diversity. The restoration work reintroduced diversity to allow natural morphological and ecological processes to take place (ref. 2). A new wetland habitat was created, along with a flood storage area. It was a small component of a wider flood alleviation scheme by the City of Edinburgh (ref. 1).

Love Square is a combination of nature and wildlife with a social space for residents and workers. The area has wildflower meadows, lawns and a mini wetland lined with bird-friendly trees (ref 2). Love Square is one of the examples of a new type of ‘smart’ -urban eco-park, combining nature and wildlife with artworks, social and activity spaces. It has a ‘Rain Garden’ and mini wetland that will soak up excess rainwater. It is a prime example of ‘water-sensitive Urban Design (ref1). The rain garden is designed to provide essential urban “greening”; increased soil and vegetation coverage will be able to soak up extra rainfall after a storm, will help to reduce the danger of flash flooding (ref 5).

This intervention is about the restoration of the riverbanks of the Janon River along a street in the Terrenoire District of Saint Etienne. This area was abandoned for more than 10 years, without maintenance and cleaning. Therefore, this intervention was mandatory for clean up to avoid flood as well as bringing back vegetation and offering some quality walking areas for citizens (Ref. 1).

In 2012, the City of Lisbon has implemented a 2,5 km green corridor connecting Monsanto Forest Park ( 900ha) and the city centre through Eduardo VII Park. (1) It is a concept of continuous natural structure, consisting of a coordinated set of green spaces that intend to continuously bring the natural space to the interior of the city (ref.3)
This corridor is a fundamental part of the Ecological Structure, a matrix formed and articulated by systems: the Mobility System, the Water and Air Circulation System, the Fluvial-Estuarine Transition System and the Structural Ecological Units System.

The areas around MarselisborgCenter in Aarhus get a new and better life. The project will contribute to the world's first city park that handles excess rainwater and invites citizens to health-promoting lifestyles. The area around MarselisborgCenter will be converted into a public city park for both MarselisborgCenter's users (people in rehabilitation) and the citizens of Aarhus in general. At the same time, the area will make the city more robust to future heavy rainfall. (Ref. 1)

The purpose of SPARK is to create a new, vibrant urban space in and around the Marselisborg Center, which partly meets the need for outdoor rehabilitation activities for the center's users, and partly the need for a fully-fledged climate adaptation effort in the area. These needs are united by the construction of a new public park, which also has the potential to increase social inclusion by creating meetings between the users of the Marselisborg Center and the many residents in the district. (Ref. 6)

“Cooperation between, residents, businesses and the local authority to facilitate the adaptation of a large urban area in Aarhus for more rainfall in the future. They will be able to influence urban development in the direction of more attractive use of rainwater. Local Rainwater Drainage (LRD) is a current trend derived from the political desire to deal with some of the expected increase in extreme rainfall by collecting and using it for recreational purposes. Society will thus be able to adapt to climate change better whilst providing more recreational facilities and environmental improvements.” (Ref. 1)

“An integrated solution for groundwater, rainwater, waste water, streams and ponds creates attractive housing in a new suburb (NyE), with room for exciting architecture. The water cycle plays a key role in urban development in Denmark, and water is one of the ever-present elements in our lives. Århus needs to prevent flooding caused by climate change, avoid polluting our groundwater, and improve the environment in streams and ponds to allow the use of water to create recreational value for the residents. This way, Århus can build a balanced aquatic environment, which will ultimately create a better city.” (Ref. 1)

The establishment of the first stage consisting of 650 homes, day care center and grocery store was initiated in the autumn of 2016 after more than 10 years of planning, and in the summer of 2018, the first residents moved into Nye. More homes are on the way. (Ref 14). In its current form of just over 150 ha, it has a capacity of approx. 15,000-20,000 inhabitants or approx. 10,000 homes at full expansion (Ref 15)

The project was about restoration of the Aarhus river. The river was piped during the 1930s for hygienic reasons and to give space for road infrastructure. In 1989, the city decided to resurface the river. The river acts as a green and blue corridor running through the city centre. Furthermore, The City Council approved a plan for the recreational vision of the Aarhus River and e.g. flood prevention measures have been taken. (Ref. 1, 2, 3) The Aarhus Å project was completed in the years from 2006 to 2013. (Ref. 15)