FUTURE AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY

Recorded by Elizabeth Donovan, images by Veera Saastamoinen

KEY READINGS 

  • Design for Flooding: Architecture, Landscape, and Urban Design for Resilience to Climate Change. Donald Watson and Michele Adams. John Wiley & Sons

  • Retrofitting for Flood Resilience: A Guide to Building & Community Design. Edward Barsley. RIBA Publishing

  • Adapting Cities to Sea Level Rise: Green and Gray Strategies. Stefan Al. Island Press

  • Design and Planning for Flood Resiliency: Guidelines for NYC Parks

INSPIRATIONAL BUILT EXAMPLES

  • Yanweizhou Park. Turenscape. Jinhua City, China

  • Water Lane. Bacca Architects. Oxfordshire, UK

  • Narula House. John Pardey Architects. London, UK

  • Flood resilient – U house. Ushijima Architects, Biwa-ko, Japan

  • Amphibious House. Bacca Architects. UK

  • Macha House. Abin Design Studio. Kolkata

  • Arcadia Education Project. Saif Ul Haque Sthapati South Kanarchor, Bangladesh

  • Flood homes, Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan

WATER RESILIENCE: RETREAT STRATEGIES

Flood mitigation strategies includes raised ground, flood proofing, and strategic retreat. These approaches address the increasing flood risks in developed areas. Retreat strategies involve removing structures from flood-prone zones, restoring natural processes. 

  • Raised ground, entails elevating land to mitigate flooding risks. Particularly effective in low-lying regions adjacent to water bodies, it functions as a barrier against floodwaters, safeguarding buildings and homes. It can be complemented by other flood protection measures. However, this approach can be costly and requires adaptation to rising sea levels.

  • Flood proofing, reduces flood impacts on structures through modifications like elevation or flood barriers. These structural and non-structural measures shield buildings and equipment. Effective flood proofing necessitates meticulous planning and collaboration.

  • Strategic retreat, involves relocating communities and infrastructure from flood-prone areas. This curtails flood damage risks, but the process must be well-coordinated to minimize social and economic burdens. Addressing equity and cultural concerns is crucial, as certain communities may be disproportionately affected.

These strategies should be part of a comprehensive flood risk reduction approach, enhancing flood resilience by considering both their benefits and challenges.


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Reuse/Retrofit

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Water Resilience: Retention Strategies