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The unprecedented growth of cities has a significant impact on future flood risk that might exceed the estimated impact of climate change many metropolitan areas across the world. Although the effects of urbanisation on flood risk are well understood, assessments that include spatially explicit future growth projections are limited. This comparative study provides insight in the long term development of future riverine and pluvial flood risk for 18 fast growing megacities. The outcomes provide not only a baseline absent in current practise, but also a strategic outlook that might better establish the role of urban planning in limiting future flood risk.
List of contents
1 Memetic algorithm optimised urban growth model
2 Urban growth projections
3 Future riverine flooding in megacities
4 Assessing the effects of urban growth on urban drainage
5 Adding depth: Estimating flood damages in Dhaka
6 Further explorations
About the author
Willem Veerbeek is one of the founders of the Flood Resilience Group at UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education in Delft, The Netherlands. He has a wide experience in flood adaptation of urban areas in The Netherlands as well as internationally. His work was instrumental in the refinement of national flood impact assessment tools, which were tested in Dutch paradigm shifting projects like UFM-Dordrecht and Rotterdam-based projects in the Dutch Knowledge for Climate programme. He worked extensively in megacities like Beijing, Dhaka and Mumbai where his work focussed on the development of long term urban growth projections and their impact on future flood risk. Strengthening UNESCO-IHE's mission in capacity development, Willem has been training many cities in climate adaption, especially in Southeast Asia. Currently he is developing a city-to-city learning network on green-blue infrastructure in the North Sea region.
Summary
The unprecedented growth of cities has a significant impact on future flood risk that might exceed the impacts of climate change in many metropolitan areas across the world. Although the effects of urbanisation on flood risk are well understood, assessments that include spatially explicit future growth projections are limited.
This comparative study provides insight in the long term development of future riverine and pluvial flood risk for 18 fast growing megacities. The outcomes provide not only a baseline absent in current practise, but also a strategic outlook that might better establish the role of urban planning in limiting future flood risk.
