An increment of urban flood risk in many areas around the globe is expected, accentuated due to climate change and urbanisation. Thus, appropriate flood risk management is crucial. Conventional approaches focus on grey infrastructure, which frequently do not address the root causes of risk. A change of paradigm is needed to develop effective adaptation strategies. Green-blue infrastructure (GBI) is a central concept to achieve adaptation to climate change. Its main strength is the ability to deliver multiple benefits. Although strong evidence exists demonstrating that GBI is a sustainable solution to reduce flooding, its adoption is still slow. Therefore, the objective of this research is to help decision-makers to adopt adaptation strategies to cope with flood risk while achieving other benefits. This study provides a framework which introduces co-benefits into decision-making for stormwater infrastructure planning. Besides, the multiple benefits are quantified and their impact on helping GBI implementation are evaluated. Finally, the effects of including co-benefits on the selection of flood mitigation strategies and the trade-offs among cost and benefits are assessed. This work contributes to enhance planning processes for flood mitigation combining green-blue-grey measures. It provides tools and knowledge to facilitate holistic decision-making, in order to ensure safe and liveable urban spaces for current and future conditions.

This open access book brings together research findings and experiences from science, policy and practice to highlight and debate the importance of nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation in urban areas. Emphasis is given to the potential of nature-based approaches to create multiple-benefits for society. The expert contributions present recommendations for creating synergies between ongoing policy processes, scientific programmes and practical implementation of climate change and nature conservation measures in global urban areas. Except where otherwise noted, this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Written by leading experts, ICE Handbook of Urban Drainage Practice provides an overview of key challenges, opportunities and future directions of urban drainage in a practical, accessible way. An invaluable tool for local authority engineers, environmental engineers, drainage design/operation engineers, and consultants or contractors.

Blue-Green Cities communicates that urban flood risk management based on Blue-Green approaches is able to deliver multiple and valuable co-benefits to urban communities.

In Blue-Green Cities, Colin Thorne and the team of authors demonstrate how urban flood risk management based on blue-green approaches and infrastructure can deliver both sustainable flood risk management and multiple co-benefits that are valued by urban communities. Cities world-wide are seeking novel solutions to problems with aging 'grey' drainage systems that are unable to cope with climate change-related increases in urban flooding. A Blue-Green City finds solutions by combining its management of urban green spaces with upgrading existing drainage systems to create integrated stormwater management systems. This challenges policy makers and planners to overcome barriers to innovation, engineers to model, design and implement blue-green systems fit for an uncertain future, social scientists to identify the preferences and values of the beneficiary communities, and environmental economists to reliably evaluate the co-benefits of blue-green solutions. We address these issues by synthesising the outcomes of the Blue-Green Cities Research Project (EPSRC award EP/K013661/1) to demonstrate how urban flood risk management that is both sustainable and resilient can be achieved using innovative approaches.

This book provides an overview of the typical nature-based solutions (NBS) used for flood mitigation at different scales and in different areas (e.g. from catchment to hillslope scale; from urban to coastal areas). NBS can provide several ecosystem services, such as water regulation and water quality enhancement, and as such offer relevant technical solutions to complement typical grey infrastructures to mitigate flood hazard and water quality problems. In recent years, political awareness and interest from the scientific community have led to increasing implementation of NBS worldwide. In light of this trend, this book provides valuable insights into the environmental aspects of NBS, particularly their effectiveness for flood and pollution mitigation, and discusses socio-economic aspects related to the implementation of NBS, including regulatory aspects, cost, and citizens’ perceptions of NBS. Compiling the latest research, the book furthers our understanding of the role of NBS for flood mitigation and its relation to environmental aspects, to guide scientists and stakeholders in future NBS projects. It is intended for the scientific community and stakeholders, such as spatial planners and landscape managers. Chapter "Nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and resilience in urban areas" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.