Climate resilient cities

As our cities grow and deal with the impacts of climate change, our solutions need to be smarter and more connected to solve the five big challenges in climate resilience:

Floods, Droughts, Heat stress, Groundwater depletion and Surface-water pollution

We can’t do it alone. That’s why we’re working closely together with city planners, architects, engineers and many others.

Fighting the five climate change challenges in cities

In the future, lasting rainwater management solutions won’t solely be about efficient stormwater disposal – storing and reusing water for dry periods and meeting the increasing water demand caused by urbanisation will be key for greener cities to thrive.

Small actions can make a big impact

Enabling rainwater reuse

Required by law in most countries, rainwater tanks to prevent flooding, currently lay empty 95% of the time, with most of the water released to the sewer system after a heavy rain. If we used available technology, we could reuse the water to maintain greenery and infiltrate it back to our groundwater to avoid depletion.

Avoiding sewer overflows in heavy rainfall

Digital tools like sensors that enable predictive maintenance and improved product design can protect the city’s sewer systems from failing due to clogging. Sensors can monitor and ensure cleaning is done only when needed – saving the city costs and resources. While road gullies with features like filter options protect the sewers from clogging due to debris.

Protecting trees

Now more than ever our cities need trees to create shade, resist heat stress and provide us with comfort. And with increased heavy traffic, stress and more paved areas, our trees face difficult conditions. We can help through simple solutions like a root tank which provides trees with air to breath and collects water for dryer periods.

Sustainability pioneers, like Sacha Stolp, Director of Innovation for the Future-Proof Assets Program in Amsterdam, are leading the crusade for more climate-resilient cities. One neighbourhood at a time. City by city.

"We need to future-proof our assets and create new standards. In this process, I ask the question: How do I build solutions that last – despite things like urbanisation, shortage of raw materials, climate changes, digitalisation? It's all within my depreciation time! I am making things for 30 years and in 30 years, it will be 2050! Then we have arrived in a completely new world where we are climate-adaptive, circular, carbon neutral, future-proof, smart.”

Read the full article here