A Model-based Framework for Selection and Development of Multi-functional and Adaptive Strategies to Cope with Urban Floods

Experiences of Housing Adapted to Sea Level Rise and Applicability for Houses in the Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

As a coastal district located in the Southeast of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, Can Gio is characterized by low average terrains ranging up to only 1.5m above the sea level. Impacted by climate change and sea level rise in recent years, certain neighborhoods in the Can Gio District have been facing the loss of their residential and arable lands, as well as undesired relocations. Together with riverbank and coastal erosion, this phenomenon has several negative impacts on the lives of people in residential areas and on their economic activities. This research uses a literature review and observation as the main methods to explore the experiences of sea level rise adaptive housing and thereby suggests certain solutions for the Can Gio District. The solutions include saving space for water, elevating floors, constructing with floating floors, and creating biological ditches and osmotic lines to help quickly drain flooded water. These solutions aim to protect people’s lives and houses against the rising sea level and ensure the sustainable development of the neighborhoods.

A spatial framework to explore needs and opportunities for interoperable urban flood management

Managing current and future urban flood risks must consider the connection (i.e. interoperability) between existing (and new) infrastructure systems to manage stormwater (pluvial flooding). Yet, due to a lack of systematic approaches to identify interoperable flood management interventions, opportunities are missed to combine investments of existing infrastructure (e.g. drainage, roads, land use and buildings) with blue-green infrastructure (e.g. sustainable urban drainage systems, green roofs, green spaces). In this study, a spatial analysis framework is presented combining hydrodynamic modelling with spatial information on infrastructure systems to provide strategic direction for systems-level urban flood management (UFM). The framework is built upon three categories of data: (i) flood hazard areas (i.e. characterize the spatial flood problem); (ii) flood source areas (i.e. areas contributing the most to surface flooding); (iii) the interoperable potential of different systems (i.e. which infrastructure systems can contribute to water management functions). Applied to the urban catchment of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (UK), the study illustrates the novelty of combining spatial data sources in a systematic way, and highlights the spatial (dis)connectivity in terms of flood source areas (where most of the flood management intervention is required) and the benefit areas (where most of the reduction in flooding occurs). The framework provides a strategic tool for managing stormwater pathways from an interoperable perspective that can help city-scale infrastructure development that considers UFM across multiple systems. This article is part of the theme issue 'Urban flood resilience'.