How China is designing flood-resistant cities

These "sponge city" designs resist floods and increase biodiversity to help us adapt to a changing climate.

From rising sea levels in Mumbai to unbearable heat in Houston, cities around the world are feeling the effects of climate change. Unfortunately, they don’t always have the right infrastructure to handle its impacts — which is one reason why cities are beginning to reimagine urban design. One of these designs is a “sponge city.”

Although one city design certainly won’t save us from the effects of climate change, “sponge cities” can help with how we live with it.

Here are some studies and articles we used to inform our reporting:

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[christianspanggaard]

This video is weirdly informative while being a masterclass on whataboutism by Delta Airlines ...

[ziqi]

The materials necessary to build sponge cities and replenish underground aquifers obviously exist, as does the technology. We just need more political willpower and money to get these projects going everywhere.

[sam-rw]

Thanks for this video Delta Airlines, now i know we can just survive the symptoms of the climate crisis and not worry about emissions ☺️

[TRODD]

Can we have a video discussing greenwashing by big polluters? Like Delta? Also, any chance of a piece about the conflict in Yemen sponsored by Aramco?

[eugp]

Singapore is a great example.. highly densed population but shady city with lots of trees and greenery. Very comfortable to walk outside despite the country being located near the equator. 🌲 🌲 🌴🌴..

[zupermaus]

To be fair, what happened in Zhengzhou was not something any sponge city could have coped with, a 'once in 1000 year' event as a year's worth of rain fell in 3 days. Also a fallacy to think that because it didn't work in that one (extraordinary) event, means none of it works.

[christopherhedges]

Delta airlines: yeah don't try to stop the climate crisis, just have to learn to adapt to it!

[gdc]

Not DELTA being the sponsor of this video 😂

[juliegolick]

Also, imagine if HOAs started mandating that people's yards be composed of indigenous / local plants instead of monocultured grass!

[veggieboyultimate]

Green infrastructure may not be THE way to solve flooding, but it certainly does help. Multiple solutions is better than just one.

[sgmaniakk]

One important theme here is land use. China prioritizes transit-oriented development and sustainable urbanism, while the US builds sprawling suburbs with highways and parking lots. The North American suburb is a land use anti-pattern.

[College_Cooking]

I love These videos they give me a national geographic vibe and I love it

[astrotrav]

Is there going to be a video on greenwashing from the airline industry? Or would certain sponsors not like that?

[mohithargunani]

The reason why Mumbai is struggling with floods is because the BMC cut down most of the mangroves out of greed and corruption for more buildings and projects. That has backfired in worst possible way one can imagine.

[RcsN]

Western media tends to stick to the narrative of 'China as the threat' so it's really enjoyable to see this piece highlighting their clever solutions. If there's one thing I've noticed is that when they put their minds to something, the Chinese get it done. 

PS: the LA solution looks sad and car-centric IMO.

[gingermintrose]

Thank you, Vox, for highlighting what other countries are doing to solve climate change without geopolitical stereotyping of the prevalent narratives about China. Let's hear what is working and initiatives out there to combat climate change.

[fakhruddinnalawala]

For all that the 'sponge cities' are being touted as a solution to flooding, spotty implementation and lack of legislation are preventing these from working well - as seen by the devastating floods that took place just a while ago.
I think this is a very important point - coming up with solutions is important, but so is implementing them.

[DanielLoveReel]

I was really hoping you were going to suggest we stop building suburbs, which tend to eat up natural area, which tends to be spongy. We need to build up where we are already developed and stop building out. It's easier for the greater region to soak up water if it isn't all paved because we had to have a bunch of soulless suburbs.

[JustinLe]

hilarious that Delta is the one sponsoring these

[rongwu-sjws]

When I was a child, my family lived by the Yangtze River. Every year floods would inundate the town. Every year it was a matter of life and death. It was just a matter of how many people died. When the roads were flooded, you could only go to school by boat, which cost about US$0.01. In order to save this money, I would give my schoolbag to my friends to take to school, swim there myself, and then dry my skin. After I left my hometown, concrete dams were built there instead of earth dams. Then there were countless engineering machines to fight disasters, and then there was the Three Gorges Dam... I haven't heard of raging floods for many years.