Water as Leverage- Setting the scene for a call for action

Water as Leverage for Resilient Cities Asia
Setting the Scene for a Call for Action
Content
There are
5 recurring
perspectives
that link
water issues
and urban
dynamics in
a successful
way
Improving The Old
with The New
Water issues, failing structures and
demographic growth put pressure
on many obsolete urban areas.
This creates a need for large-scale
investments in water management.
But smart injections can restructure
the water system on the scale of
the entire city, without renewing it
all: for example, when new urban
development gives rise to public
and private investments upstream,
these will automatically have a
positive impact on water quality or
quantity in the downstream areas of
a city.
Incremental Upgrading
Underprivileged population groups are usually
driven towards the most precarious urban
areas, often close to major water bodies. These
neighborhoods perpetuate a cycle between
dependence on water for economic activities,
continuous natural threats and ecological
degradation. Instead of setting up large-scale,
imposed relocation or redevelopment projects to
clear water structures, gradual and even co-created
adaptations to the urban and water infrastructure –
such as collective sewerage provision or relocation
within the community – could facilitate major
positive impacts on the surrounding urban living
and ecological conditions.
History is The Future
Urban settlements in lowlying
areas or around complex
river systems usually had to
develop a secure system of
measures for water protection
or storage throughout history.
Due to population pressure,
however, these old inventive
water structures are often
increasingly abandoned,
disused or considered only as
cultural heritage.
(Re)structuring current
and future urbanization by
recovering this historical water
system and reactivating it with
contemporary techniques can
contribute to the resilience
these water cities once had.
Living with Water
Urbanization in low-lying areas
such as wetlands or deltas
has to deal with water issues
in an almost amphibious way.
Periods of too much or too
little water result in a complex
multi-dimensional paradox of
excess and shortage, usually
leading to heavy drainage
or aquifer overexploitation,
setting in motion a
rollercoaster of problems of
their own. Integrated, systemic
water sensitivity strategies and
typologies that store, delay,
retain or re-use the available
water can help to unravel the
paradox and balance the city’s
water issues.
Adapt to Mitigate
Water problems in urbanized areas are usually
mitigated: protection measures prevent the worst
damage and keep the city’s livelihood safe. But
we could also adapt to the problems we face by
generating solutions that start from the systemic
logic of changing dynamics – such as sea level rise,
storm increase or flash floods. Literally creating
room for water bodies to flood safely could also
generate or strengthen adaptive economies and
improve the quality of the immediate urbanized
surroundings.
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Global Water Issues
PART 1 / From Global Water Issues to a Call for Action
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