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Influence of the Urban Fabric on the Risks of Floods

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2019) | Viewed by 35625

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Associate Dean—International, Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK
Interests: flood risk management; resilience; adaptation; recovery; response
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and the Built Environment, University of the West of England
Interests: flood risk management; climate adaptation; flood insurance; real estate and climate risk; urban flood resilience

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Flooding is a global challenge that is known to impact on humanity across the world causing widespread chaos and disruption to homes, businesses and communities. Urbanisation coupled with increased storminess and extreme weather mean that urban flooding continues to grow in most world regions and in both developing and developed nations. The urban fabric can have a profound effect on flood risk as a consequence of decreased permeability, urban microclimates, poor drainage and  water transit and increased exposure and vulnerability to flooding.  Recognising this, there has been a shift in focus from traditional flood control approaches towards integrated risk management that explores strategies to live with water. Such strategies include appropriate planning and management of urban developments, flood resilient design and construction of new buildings coupled with the appropriate adaptation of existing buildings and blue-green infrastructure. This special issue of Water calls for innovative research papers that will advance our knowledge/capability in i) means to mitigate the influence of the built environment on the risks of flooding; and ii)  innovative solutions that will help support the development of a more resilient urban infrastructure and built environment.

Prof. David Proverbs
Prof. Jessica Lamond
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Resilience
  • Adaptation
  • Reinstatement
  • Recovery
  • Buildings
  • Drainage
  • Planning

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1221 KiB  
Article
Making Birmingham a Flood Resilient City: Challenges and Opportunities
by Taiwo Adedeji, David Proverbs, Hong Xiao, Paul Cobbing and Victor Oladokun
Water 2019, 11(8), 1699; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11081699 - 16 Aug 2019
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 10020
Abstract
The city of Birmingham has experienced a number of significant flooding events in the past two decades. The impacts of these flood events include physical damage to critical infrastructure, as well as significant losses caused by business interruption and general disruption to communities. [...] Read more.
The city of Birmingham has experienced a number of significant flooding events in the past two decades. The impacts of these flood events include physical damage to critical infrastructure, as well as significant losses caused by business interruption and general disruption to communities. Human losses and impacts can be life changing. This study identifies the current challenges and opportunities of managing flood risk in the city of Birmingham, drawing on a desk-based account of current flood risk management (FRM) practice and diagnostic evidence. This interrogation adopts the use of a ‘flood resilience circle model’ to consider ways to address the challenges in a methodological manner aligned to an integrated approach to flood risk management. Solutions aligned to the key FRM stages of prevention, preparation, response and recovery are provided. The findings will be of interest to policy makers and decision makers on how to address current weaknesses in FRM practices towards the prospect of a sustainable approach that improves the resilience of the city and delivers multiple benefits. Recommendations made include the adoption of a blue-green systems approach, the development of a new communication strategy aligned to motivating behaviour change, and improved flood forecasting especially for surface water flooding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of the Urban Fabric on the Risks of Floods)
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20 pages, 4531 KiB  
Article
Key Factors Influencing Wider Adoption of Blue–Green Infrastructure in Developing Cities
by Nafsika Drosou, Robby Soetanto, Ferry Hermawan, Ksenia Chmutina, Lee Bosher and Jati Utomo Dwi Hatmoko
Water 2019, 11(6), 1234; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11061234 - 13 Jun 2019
Cited by 47 | Viewed by 11562
Abstract
Numerous fast-growing coastal cities in the Global South are exposed to coastal, fluvial and pluvial floods, as a consequence of decades-long rapid urbanisation and weak enforcement of planning regulations. Integrating Blue–Green Infrastructure (BGI) concepts into the development of the urban landscape has the [...] Read more.
Numerous fast-growing coastal cities in the Global South are exposed to coastal, fluvial and pluvial floods, as a consequence of decades-long rapid urbanisation and weak enforcement of planning regulations. Integrating Blue–Green Infrastructure (BGI) concepts into the development of the urban landscape has the potential to increase flood resilience and offer broader environmental benefits. BGI is an innovative approach that combines water management and green infrastructure to maintain natural water cycles and enhance environmental and urban renewal. This paper identifies socio-economic, cultural and political challenges influencing BGI adoption in Semarang city in Indonesia. Data was collected from residents of three communities through interviews (n=30), questionnaires (n=180) and focus groups with policymakers and community representatives. The combined quantitative and qualitative data provide an understanding of the specific socio-economic, cultural and political issues at play and reveal flood experience as well as perceptions of community members regarding flood management. Challenges are presented from the point of view of residents and local policymakers and are based on a framework for facilitating local BGI adoption, setting the principles of “inclusive”, “appropriate” and “proactive” as pre-conditions for enhancing community resilience to flooding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of the Urban Fabric on the Risks of Floods)
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Graphical abstract

12 pages, 1130 KiB  
Article
Research on Class-Based Storage Strategies for Flood Control Materials Based on Grey Clustering
by Wei Wang, Li Huang, Weiwei Le, Yu Zhang, Peng Ji and David Proverbs
Water 2018, 10(11), 1506; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111506 - 25 Oct 2018
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3327
Abstract
Scientific and rational class-based storage can effectively improve the management level of flood control materials, providing assurance for the material support that is essential in flood control. Based on an analysis of the three key factors—importance, cost, and reserve—of flood control materials and [...] Read more.
Scientific and rational class-based storage can effectively improve the management level of flood control materials, providing assurance for the material support that is essential in flood control. Based on an analysis of the three key factors—importance, cost, and reserve—of flood control materials and combined with the correlations of different classes of materials, a comprehensive evaluation index system and a class-based model for these materials are developed using the grey clustering method. An empirical analysis is also conducted based on the realistic requirements of a warehouse of the Jiangsu provincial water conservancy and flood control materials reserve centre, which results in the proposal of a class-based materials storage strategy for this warehouse. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of the Urban Fabric on the Risks of Floods)
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9 pages, 1628 KiB  
Article
Scenario-Based Economic Impact Analysis for Bridge Closures Due to Flooding: A Case Study of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea
by Byungil Kim, Sha Chul Shin and Du Yon Kim
Water 2018, 10(8), 981; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10080981 - 25 Jul 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4793
Abstract
Flooding has the ability to severely reduce the capacity of a transportation network. The closure of even a single bridge, which often acts as a critical link in transportation networks, can have a severe impact on the entire network. This impact can lead [...] Read more.
Flooding has the ability to severely reduce the capacity of a transportation network. The closure of even a single bridge, which often acts as a critical link in transportation networks, can have a severe impact on the entire network. This impact can lead to significant economic costs resulting from increased travel distances for drivers. Despite the significance of these costs, however, notably few studies have been conducted to determine the societal economic cost that would be incurred due to bridge closures. One possible reason for the lack of studies investigating bridge closures due to flooding could stem from the difficultly in collecting data. To address this issue, the methodology presented in this paper uses modeling and data resources that are available for major cities in most developed countries, including those in South Korea. We evaluate the economic impact of the bridge closures using the new administrative capital of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea as a case study. Scenarios for the closure of bridges are derived from channel surveys and hydraulic analyses. These methods are used to overcome a lack of adequate data on historical floods in the new city. Traffic is forecasted to estimate the number of road users that would be forced to take detours due to inundated bridges. Contrasting travel distances when bridges are and are not operational, economic costs incurred by bridge closures due to flooding are estimated. The results indicated that bridge closures would result in an economic cost of 1563 USD to 44,180 USD per day, depending on how many bridges are closed and how many people are living in the new city. The estimates from this study will act as guidelines for identifying cost-effective mitigation and preparedness strategies aimed at reducing the frequency and impact of bridge closures due to flooding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of the Urban Fabric on the Risks of Floods)
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14 pages, 3278 KiB  
Article
Hybrid Numerical Scheme of Preissmann Slot Model for Transient Mixed Flows
by Hyunuk An, Seungsoo Lee, Seong Jin Noh, Yeonsu Kim and Jaekyoung Noh
Water 2018, 10(7), 899; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10070899 - 6 Jul 2018
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5065
Abstract
The Preissmann slot model is one of the most widely used models to conceptualize both free-surface and pressurized flows in urban drainage systems. Despite its simplicity and wide range of applications, numerical solutions of the Preissmann slot model suffer from the spurious oscillations, [...] Read more.
The Preissmann slot model is one of the most widely used models to conceptualize both free-surface and pressurized flows in urban drainage systems. Despite its simplicity and wide range of applications, numerical solutions of the Preissmann slot model suffer from the spurious oscillations, especially when flow conditions switch from free-surface flow to pressurized flow. To overcome this problem, a new hybrid numerical flux solver of the Preissmann slot model is proposed herein, in which the upwind flux solver is combined with the centered flux solver. Numerical experiments are conducted for multiple flow conditions such as typical filling, pipe-filling, and transition-flow conditions. The numerical results indicate that the proposed scheme generally outperforms the conventional flux schemes for various hydraulic conditions and wave velocities. The proposed scheme should be useful to further enhance integrated urban water modeling in which transient mixed flow conditions significantly impact the simulation accuracy during extreme floods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of the Urban Fabric on the Risks of Floods)
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