Natural assets produce important city services and complement engineered infrastructure. Investing in natural assets can help protect our environment, reduce municipal service costs and create jobs.
Cities can prepare for climate change emergencies by adding green spaces to help manage stormwater, heat stress and air quality.
(Shutterstock)
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the lack of green space available to those living in urban areas. Cities must be managed as ecosystems to make them more liveable and resilient.
Harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie, Sept. 4, 2009.
NOAA/Flickr
Warmer waters, heavier storms and nutrient pollution are a triple threat to Great Lakes cities' drinking water. The solution: Cutting nutrient releases and installing systems to filter runoff.
Access to the shoreline is great, but what about places not on the coast?
Béju (Happy City, Street Plan, University of Virginia)
Research into public health benefits of integrating nature into cities has focused on green spaces. New studies suggest water features are just as useful and can piggyback on other infrastructure goals.
The damage to the dam holding back a reservoir just a mile from the nearest town downriver should focus minds on ensuring civil infrastructure is maintained.
As the population of the world’s cities grows, so too does resource and energy use as well as waste generation. We can combat these issues with a circular economy that uses nature as a template.
Ontario Environmental Commissioner Dianne Saxe released her annual environmental report on Nov. 13, 2018.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)
Premier Doug Ford’s proposal to downgrade Ontario’s environmental watchdog is bad news for the environment, public health and safety, and evidence-based decision-making.
A residential rain garden in Portland’s Tabor to the River project.
City of Portland Government
The US wants to invest in more infrastructure to handle our rainfall and melted snow. Stormwater credits could help cut costs and protect the environment.
Water levels in Cape Town fell to 20% of their capacity.
Lucy Rodina
Building resilience in Cape Town's water sector will require addressing risks like climate change, drought and flooding. Stormwater and groundwater are tipped as potential solutions.
Stormwater harvesting offers an alternative water supply source. It's almost entirely untapped in South Africa and could ensure improved water security across the country.
Not just a way to beat the heat, urban forests also reduce air pollution and provide other services for the economy.
kiddocone/flickr
Built-up urban environments transform the resource of rainwater into wasted runoff. Low Impact Development mimics nature to help get stormwater into the natural water system.
Research Officer in the Urban Water Management research unit in the Department of Civil Engineering, and theme leader for the Future Water Institute, University of Cape Town