Water Sensitive Cities
Water is part of our daily life, from the glass of water we drink, the shower we take and the water we discharge into the toilet, to the water that splashes when we go out into the street and it is raining.
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We depend on water and it affects our day to day.
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This relationship is even clearer when we have news about floods and droughts in our region. But something is missing ... this information feels distant, it is not part of our urban context, is it?
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Look at the following map:
Water flows regardless of whether it is in rural or urban areas.
The difference is that in rural areas, water infiltrates and recharges groundwater as it runs.
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But in the urban areas? it Cannot!
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We have concrete covering each surface and then the water runs through our streets ... yes, the dirty streets that we walk through every day. There it accumulates and its name stops being rainwater and becomes runoff.
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Now, in this reflection we include climate change. Two important impacts: The last years have been record for the highest temperatures in history and for the large amount of rain that falls in a single event of one or several days and not as before, in frequent but less intense events.
The result? I imagine you are already familiar with heat islands and floods in cities, right? And if we add the latest news: The global reduction of biodiversity?
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Well then, the concept of a city sensitive to water begins to get a shape...
Why?
Because it includes all these problems and provides solutions through nature-based solutions.