Sponge landscape : infrastructure for urban water resilience : strategic innovation for Gutian industrial area, Wuhan

Abstract

Nowadays, climate change has become a world-wide challenge urging for attention. The result include abnormal change and fluctuation of temperature and precipitation，rising frequency of extreme weather events, which put urban infrastructure system into test – especially regarding to the problem of storm water and flooding . Under these circumstances, China’s situation hasn’t been optimistic so far. Poor construction of urban infrastructure and defective water management system during past decades makes most cities of the country extremely vulnerable to extreme weather.

In April 2015, the government put forward a city development principle to construct “SPONGE CITY”. Wuhan City was nominated as the experimental site for SPONGE CITY development. Among 16 others, Wuhan is special for its mega-size and water structure.

As a city with abundant water resources, Wuhan City is called "the city of hundreds of lakes". Located right on a floodplain, it enjoys the natural advantage, and in history, it is a city that was born along the river, also revolved and developed relying on water. However, Wuhan city lost large proportion of natural lakes and water body because of urban sprawl. The loss of natural permeable surface and retention catchment for urban runoff directly leads to fast drain of storm water. Flooding and waterlogging starts to becomes one of the city's major concern and affects citizens' daily life.

This thesis tries to explore a solution to the current situation, Measures like building dykes, reclamation and establishing artificial sewage system forms the system of "GREY infrastructure". Instead of this fast drain mode to deal with urban runoff, it is chance to explore the viability of “GREEN” SPONGE infrastructure—which means create a system of establishing a set of green permeable surface and retention facilities, in combination of purification, ecological restoration, as well as recreation function. Gutian, as a site of old industrial area on city fringe and located on upstream bank of Han River. It is faced with an urgent redevelopment as a chance for complete change, which provide a great opportunity to make a difference as the testing field for “SPONGE INFRASTRUCTURE”, with its vast area, it can actually make a difference to relieve the burden of city’s fast drain pressure.