A continuing increase in disasters triggered by floods occurs almost daily even though our technological capabilities have grown rapidly and global economic growth per capita has doubled. This paradoxical situation proves that our earlier ways of thinking are inadequate and that we must shift our way of thinking and working. It has become obvious that most flood-related disasters, although commonly referred to as natural disasters, are not the result of nature-related processes alone. Some of the early efforts in dealing with floods and flood-related disasters were only concerned with the construction of engineering structures (e.g., levees, floodwalls, dams, embankments, storage basins, diversions, etc.) without significant consideration of aspects which are nowadays regarded as equally important, if not more important. There is a great deal of natural, social and technological interactions that shape the vulnerability to floods. Realizing that flood risk can hardly ever be completely eliminated, the traditional 'flood defence' culture has been replaced with the culture of learning how to live under flood risk and how to better respond to it. This renders purely engineering solutions inadequate. Can the threats of more flood-related disasters provide an impetus to shift our mind-set towards an approach that favours not only sound technological innovations but one that also addresses the social, cultural, and wider ecological aspects of dealing with floods? In this illustrated book, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) seeks to introduce a holistic thinking in dealing with urban floods by adopting the green cities development approach. Green cities development is a holistic approach which promotes multipurpose (or multifunctional) solutions that are not only technologically and economically efficient, but which are also ecologically sustainable and socially just. Authors: Zoran Vojinovic, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands and Jingmin Huang, Senior Urban Development Specialist, Regional and Sustainable Development Department, Asian Development Bank

The negative impacts of floods are attributed to the extent and magnitude of a flood hazard, and the vulnerability and exposure of natural and human elements. In flood risk management (FRM) studies, it is crucial to model the interaction between human and flood subsystems across multiple spatial, temporal and organizational scales. Models should address the heterogeneity that exists within the human subsystem, and incorporate institutions that shape the behaviour of individuals. Hence, the main objectives of the dissertation are to develop a modelling framework and a methodology to build holistic models for FRM, and to assess how coupled human-flood interaction models support FRM policy analysis and decision-making. To achieve the objectives, the study introduces the Coupled fLood-Agent-Institution Modelling framework (CLAIM). CLAIM integrates actors, institutions, the urban environment, hydrologic and hydrodynamic processes and external factors, which affect FRM activities. The framework draws on the complex system perspective and conceptualizes the interaction of floods, humans and their environment as drivers of flood hazard, vulnerability and exposure. The human and flood subsystems are modelled using agent-based models and hydrodynamic models, respectively. The two models are dynamically coupled to understand human-flood interactions and to investigate the effect of institutions on FRM policy analysis.

This book pursues a comprehensive approach so as to arrive at a better understanding of the implications of climate change on sustainable development, focusing on the perspective of water. Climate change is one of today’s most pressing global issues and will become increasingly important in the decades to come, as societies will feel its pervasive impacts in many aspects of their lives. Given that the majority of these climate change impacts will be felt through the medium of water, the book explores the interrelationships and inter-linkages between water, climate change and sustainable development.

This publication is a result of a 2-year innovative, exploratory, and reflective study of cities as unique urban spaces that support life, work, and play. It responds to major issues that affect the quality of life of urban residents. This publication offers practical ways on how urban managers, urban practitioners, businesspeople, and citizens can engage to make cities more livable by building on their distinctive physical, social, cultural, and economic characteristics. With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations, the book comes at the right time to offer integrated urban development solutions that can translate global development commitments into urban-level actions to achieve livable cities.

This volume presents innovative work on innovative methods, tools and practices aimed at supporting the transition of Asian and Middle Eastern cities and regions towards a more smart and sustainable dimension. The role of the built and urban environment are becoming more pronounced in Asia and Middle East as the regions continues to experience rapid increase in population and urbanisation, which have only led to an increase in environmental degradation but also rise in energy consumption and emissions. Individual chapters covers timely topics such as sustainable infrastructure, transportation, renewable energy, water and methods supporting an innovative and sustainable development of urban areas. Real-world examples are presented to highlight recent developments and advancements in design, construction and transportation infrastructures. This volume is part of the proceedings of the 1st GeoMEast International Congress and Exhibition on Sustainable Civil Infrastructures, Egypt 2017.

Urban planners across the world are faced with sustainable development issues in their work, especially when they are tasked with creating green cities or where sustainable and smart growth in urban settings are set as primary goals. This book introduces green city planning and practices from the three dimensions of green-building innovation, community development and smart city strategies, and argues that effective implementation of green city planning are a necessary pre-condition for reaching sustainable urban development. A range of authors representing a broad disciplinary spectrum bring together the different standards of green building methods and urban design techniques and clearly sketch the roles of both spatial designers and urban researchers in the implementation of green city planning at regional, community and single-building level in order to arrive at an integrated approach across different scales.

Carried out in consultation with officials and researchers from across the region, Towards Green Growth in Southeast Asia provides a framework for regional leaders to design their own solutions to move their countries towards green growth.