Build sponge eco-cities to adapt hydroclimatic hazards

Abstract

Global population increases steadily and the majority are moving into cities. In the meantime, fast-growing cities are suffering with intensified hydroclimatic hazards. In this chapter, the authors propose to transform cities to sponge eco-cities so as to enhance their capacity on flood prevention, water resources replenishment, heat-island mitigation, biodiversity development, and air and water quality improvement. The strategy proposed is to replace all urban pavements with load-bearing, permeable, breathable, and sustainable pavements, so that rainwater will be stored underneath on raining days and water vapor will be released on sunny days. With water and air reaching soil underneath, underground ecosystem will flourish to enrich urban biodiversity. The JW eco-technology meets the seven criteria specified in this chapter to construct desired pavements. JW refers to the initials of the first name of the inventor, Jui-Wen Chen. These criteria are load-bearing capability, permeability, water storage capacity, breathability, underground ecosystem enrichability, affordability, and sustainability. In Taiwan, this JW eco-technology has been tested successfully for 10 years and is recommended by the official agency responsible for the green building certification. Certainly, it is not a trivial task to replace all man-made pavements of any city within a short period of time. A “Build Sponge Taiwan Initiative” has been launched by environmental groups in Taiwan to promote the idea to the general public and to hopefully build sponge eco-communities island-wide in the nearest future.