STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES AND BUILDING RESILIENCE (IN THE NETHERLANDS AND AUSTRALIA) AND RELEVANCE FOR NEW ORLEANS

Richard Ashley
Professor of Urban Water University of Sheffield Visiting Researcher Flood Resilience Group UNESCO IHE Researcher University of Bradford

It is not only about flood risk management

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IUWM TWCM HOLISTIC WATER MANAGEMENT IS A NOBRAINER

Vulnerability of Water Supply from Catchment Runoff

Source: CSIRO (2006)

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OTHER TYPES OF PROBLEM

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Do you still believe you can predict an hydrological event?

Significant driver changes can now be expected in the lifetime of infrastructure for flood protection and urban drainage This undermines stationary hydrology assumption historic data cannot help much in making probabilistic projections of the future (Milly et al) Carrying on more research cannot significantly reduce uncertainty When the new defences in NO are finished they will already be unable to deliver the expected performance

RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY?

FLOOD

RESILIENCE Ability to cope with shocks and restore functionality (and retain identity)

THE

WATER SENSITIVE

CITY

Resilience to drought and climate change diversity of water sources and enabling infrastructure Climate adaptation resilience to floods and rising sea levels Climate adaptation micro-climate, urban heat island, health impacts Planning neighbourhoods and precincts that are more water sensitive
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Water - From supplies, basic sanitation, flood risk to now

Australian Cities

New Orleans?
EcoFutures Brown, Keath and Wong (2009) Wat. Sci. & Tech. 59:5, 847-855 7

IF WE ACCEPT THE VISION OF A WATER SENSITIVE CITY WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS?
Intergenerational

equity (Climate change) resilience

Adaptive

multi-functional (water) infrastructure (embedded) within urban design - reinforcing water sensitive values and behaviours

NOT ONLY ABOUT WATER

City layouts and services The dynamic city In Europe there is a much greater need to retrofit our existing property stocks than worry too much about new developments

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ROTTERDAM HEAT ISLAND EFFECTS

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WSUD, LID AND GI

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WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?

Flooding

sensitivity Land use driven and Resource driven and controlled controlled Acute impacts Chronic impacts?

Water

Resilience

lifestyle Behaviour and expectations - especially of the policy makers and their delivery instruments

Sustainability
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WHAT CAN WE LEARN?

Dutch

multi-level safety and making way for the

river
The

city in the water and water in the city Protect live with plan to escape (build adaptive capacity) DO ALL OF THESE
Australian

coping with water stress and leading the way in building Institutional capacity
Mateness

Doing

more with less multi-value and multifunctionality

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