Water sensitive urban planning in times of climate change

This Peer Learning Note (PLN) documents the practices and discussions shared between cities and partners during the Connective Cities Dialogue Event “The Role of Rain and Storm Water Management in Water Sensitive Urban Planning”, which took place from December 6-8, 2022 in Cologne, Germany. Heavy rain and storm water events such as those in the Ahr Valley in Germany in 2021, or in Pakistan, Australia and South Africa in 2022, cause streams to swell to raging torrents, flood roads, destroy houses and bridges and lead to loss of life as well as damage worth billions. In consequence, local governments and municipal leaders, planners and service providers look for more integrated and inclusive solutions to avoid human, environmental and financial losses related to flood.

The publication lists the following recomendations: 

• Consider Nature-based Solutions over purely grey infrastructure approaches: Nature-based solutions (NbS) have proven to be locally-adapted and resource-efficient interventions for rain and storm water management;
• Improve information sharing systems: Informing the population is extremely important, both to raise awareness about flooding prior to an event, and to alert and guide the population on how to act when the event occurs;
• Include risks in urban planning and strategies for future development areas: As in the case of Green City Kigali (Kigali, Rwanda), the opportunity for new development areas to integrate risk evidence is larger if the development project is done and exposed to partnerships.