Road map towards a flood resilient urban environment

As a consequence of climate change, increasing urban population and economic development great uncertainty exists about the necessary adaptation of the urban environment to flood risk. This calls for response strategies which manage the flood risk in a more flexible and holistic way.

This requires a portfolio of mitigation and adaptation measures which together will have a positive impact on the source, the pathway, the receptor and the consequences of any flood event.

Traditional flood defence measures which mainly have an impact on the pathway need to be further extended with the greater utilisation of non-structural flood mitigation and adaptation measures.

Policy makers and recent scientific developments show that together traditional and non-structural flood defence strategies will lead to more flood resilient cities.