Sponge city

Meanwhile, high-intensity artificial constructions, such as buildings, roads, and public squares, lead to the lower pad's excessive hardening, changing the original natural foundation and hydrological characteristics. Because of this, surface flow increases from 10% to 60%, while infiltration is drastically reduced, even to zero.{{Cite book |last=Wu |first=Ye Gang |title=Sponge City Design: Concept, Technology & Case Study. |publisher=Phoenix Science Press |year=2016 |location=Jiangsu}} According to an investigation that the Ministry of Housing and Urban‑Rural Development conducted in 2010, 62% of 351 cities across the country faced flooding between 2008 and 2010; 137 cities flooded more than three times during this time period. This frequent urban flooding makes more and more people recognize the importance of water ecosystems and urban ecological infrastructure. The simple concept of fast discharge, a traditional [[Greywater|gray water]] management model, is no longer helpful in addressing the rainwater dilemma during rapid urbanization. To cope with such extensive urban water issues, China is increasingly attaching importance to [[urban flood management]] and water ecological-system services and vigorously promoting the idea of Sponge City.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Meanwhile, high-intensity artificial constructions, such as buildings, roads, and public squares, lead to the lower pad's excessive hardening, changing the original natural foundation and hydrological characteristics. Because of this, surface flow increases from 10% to 60%, while infiltration is drastically reduced, even to zero.{{Cite book |last=Wu |first=Ye Gang |title=Sponge City Design: Concept, Technology & Case Study. |publisher=Phoenix Science Press |year=2016 |location=Jiangsu}} According to an investigation that the Ministry of Housing and Urban‑Rural Development conducted in 2010, 62% of 351 cities across the country faced flooding between 2008 and 2010; 137 cities flooded more than three times during this time period. This frequent urban flooding makes more and more people recognize the importance of water ecosystems and urban ecological infrastructure. The simple concept of fast discharge, a traditional [[Greywater|gray water]] management model, is no longer helpful in addressing the rainwater dilemma during rapid urbanization. To cope with such extensive urban water issues, China is increasingly attaching importance to [[urban flood management]] and water ecological-system services and vigorously promoting the idea of Sponge City.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

==History of Sponge City==

== History ==

The [[China|People's Republic of China]] adopted the Sponge City initiative, largely motivated by the failure of the conventional grey infrastructure of flood control and [[Stormwater|stormwater management]] systems, due to the persistent efforts by Chinese ecological urbanists through letters and proposals sent to high level Chinese authorities since early 2000.{{Cite book |last=Yu |first=Kongian |title=Letters to the Leaders of China: Kongjian Yu and the Future of the Chinese City |quote=with contributions by Michael Sorkin, Peter Rowe, Thomas. J. Campanella, A. Weiwei, Z. Lin, X. Ren, P.G. Rowe, M. Sorkin, D. Sui, J. Sze, and K. Yu |publisher=Terreform |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-9960041-8-3 |location=New York |pages=54, 111, 124–126}}{{Cite web |last=Yu |first=Kongjian |year=2012 |title=ASLA Award of Excellence: A Green Sponge for A Water Resilient City |url=https://www.asla.org/2012awards/026.html |work=American Society of Landscape Architects }}{{Cite web|last=俞孔坚及团队的海绵城市理论与实践|title=Kongjian Yu and Sponge City Theory and Practice with His Team|url=https://www.turenscape.com/topic/spongecity/index.html}}{{Cite web|title=土人设计网 – 北京土人城市规划设计股份有限公司 (城市设计、建筑设计、环境设计、城市与区域规划、风景旅游地规划、城市与区域生态基础设施规划) |trans-title=Turen Design Network – Beijing Turen Urban Planning and Design Co., Ltd. (urban design, architectural design, environmental design, urban and regional planning, scenic tourism destination planning, urban and regional ecological infrastructure planning) |url=https://www.turenscape.com/en/home/index.html|access-date=2 January 2022 |website=www.turenscape.com}} Though the concept had been published and practiced since early 2000, it was the [[July 2012 Beijing flood|Beijing flood]] on July 21, 2012 which caused 79 deaths that prompted the top Chinese authorities to accept the Sponge City concept and make it a nationwide policy.{{Cite journal |last1=Hermaputi |first1=Roosmayri Lovina |first2=Chen |last2=Hua |date=27 February 2017|title=Creating Urban Water Resilience: Review of China's Development Strategies " Sponge City " Concept and Practices |url=https://www.academia.edu/32423905 |journal=The Indonesian Journal of Planning and Development |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.14710/ijpd.2.1.1-10|doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last=Gies |first=Erica |title=The architect making friends with flooding |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/12/21/1041318/flooding-landscape-architecture-yu-kongjian/ |journal=MIT Technology Review|language=en |access-date=10 March 2022}}

The [[China|People's Republic of China]] adopted the Sponge City initiative, largely motivated by the failure of the conventional grey infrastructure of flood control and [[Stormwater|stormwater management]] systems, due to the persistent efforts by Chinese ecological urbanists through letters and proposals sent to high level Chinese authorities since early 2000.{{Cite book |last=Yu |first=Kongian |title=Letters to the Leaders of China: Kongjian Yu and the Future of the Chinese City |quote=with contributions by Michael Sorkin, Peter Rowe, Thomas. J. Campanella, A. Weiwei, Z. Lin, X. Ren, P.G. Rowe, M. Sorkin, D. Sui, J. Sze, and K. Yu |publisher=Terreform |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-9960041-8-3 |location=New York |pages=54, 111, 124–126}}{{Cite web |last=Yu |first=Kongjian |year=2012 |title=ASLA Award of Excellence: A Green Sponge for A Water Resilient City |url=https://www.asla.org/2012awards/026.html |work=American Society of Landscape Architects }}{{Cite web|last=俞孔坚及团队的海绵城市理论与实践|title=Kongjian Yu and Sponge City Theory and Practice with His Team|url=https://www.turenscape.com/topic/spongecity/index.html}}{{Cite web|title=土人设计网 – 北京土人城市规划设计股份有限公司 (城市设计、建筑设计、环境设计、城市与区域规划、风景旅游地规划、城市与区域生态基础设施规划) |trans-title=Turen Design Network – Beijing Turen Urban Planning and Design Co., Ltd. (urban design, architectural design, environmental design, urban and regional planning, scenic tourism destination planning, urban and regional ecological infrastructure planning) |url=https://www.turenscape.com/en/home/index.html|access-date=2 January 2022 |website=www.turenscape.com}} Though the concept had been published and practiced since early 2000, it was the [[July 2012 Beijing flood|Beijing flood]] on July 21, 2012 which caused 79 deaths that prompted the top Chinese authorities to accept the Sponge City concept and make it a nationwide policy.{{Cite journal |last1=Hermaputi |first1=Roosmayri Lovina |first2=Chen |last2=Hua |date=27 February 2017|title=Creating Urban Water Resilience: Review of China's Development Strategies " Sponge City " Concept and Practices |url=https://www.academia.edu/32423905 |journal=The Indonesian Journal of Planning and Development |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.14710/ijpd.2.1.1-10|doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last=Gies |first=Erica |title=The architect making friends with flooding |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/12/21/1041318/flooding-landscape-architecture-yu-kongjian/ |journal=MIT Technology Review|language=en |access-date=10 March 2022}}