People Fixing the World
Sponge cities that fight flooding
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April 19, 2022
24 minutes
Available for over a year
Sponge cities use natural features to slow down, soak up and reuse flood water.
Yu Kongjian nearly drowned as a boy when his village flooded, but it inspired him to come up with the sponge city concept. It’s now being rolled out across China. In Singapore too, parks and lakes are being engineered to soak up excess water. They embrace the flood water rather than block it with concrete barriers. It comes as cities around the world are struggling to cope with more extreme weather caused by climate change.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Reporter: Tessa Wong
Producer: Claire Bates
Image: Zhejiang, China (Turenscape)