Water Resilience: Retreat Strategies
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.