Adapting Cities: Interoperable solutions for improved flood resilience

The urban environment contains multiple infrastructure systems (e.g. roads, land use, energy) and in each system, stormwater management options are available (e.g. permeable roads, retention ponds, dams). Yet, the ability of these systems to interact or interoperate with each other to enhance the overall capacity of the system (i.e. the city) to manage stormwater is less well understood. Exploring and optimising these interactions could increase the functionality of flood risk management designs and produce gains in efficiency and productivity while reducing overall systems costs. This research aims to embed system-based solutions in practice and optimise the use of storm water management solutions that interoperate with existing infrastructure assets.

The project will join a world leading consortium of academics across the UK on the EPSRC "Achieving Urban Flood Resilience in an Uncertain Future" project (2016-2019), http://www.urbanfloodresilience.ac.uk/, and will extend the work investigating the application of an interoperable tool newly developed and designed for promoting interoperable Blue-Green and grey infrastructure design solutions in city scale catchments.
This project will focus on the development of the tool for use by regional practitioners (local authorities, planners, etc.), further enhance the current case study cities (Leeds and Newcastle), and the determination and assessment of new and developing cities (e.g. Ebbsfleet Garden City, London). By developing new flood risk maps and adaptation solutions, the results will be used to produce robust stakeholder co-developed adaptation pathways and business cases for an urban catchment that can be validated in utilised globally.
This interdisciplinary project will provide an exciting opportunity to develop research expertise in an area of urban flood resilience of international significance, and will provide significant opportunities for research impact at a city scale.