Water And Urban Development Paradigms

Communication across and integration of disciplines in the urban-water sector seems today more imperative than ever before. Water is a strategic and shrinking resource. It is probably the world's most valuable resource and clean water has even been touted as the 'next oil'. Control of water - from access to management - has always been a

Frontiers in Urban Water Management presents the state-of-the art in urban water management at the beginning of the 21st century. The book marks the end of the fifth phase of UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme in this field by bringing together major scientific and professional players to address critical and topical issues in water management. This team of leading world experts investigate themes such as the challenges of urban water management, infrastructure integration issues, and emerging paradigms in water supply and sanitation. Key issues are investigated from the hydrological, technical and managerial points of view, incorporating both social and economic realities. Specific reference is also made to solutions for developing countries. With a view to the future, conclusions from past experiences are highlighted, new pathways are explored and future developments are suggested. Contents The challenge of urban water management Urban water as a part of integrated catchment management Interactions with the environment Infrastructure integration issues Emerging paradigms in water supply and sanitation Problems of developing countries Economic and financial aspects Social, institutional and regulatory issues Outlook for the 21st Century

Today’s urban water managers are faced with an unprecedented set of issues that call for a different approach to urban water management. These include the urgent changes needed to respond to climate change, population growth, growing resource constraints, and rapidly increasing global urbanization. Not only are these issues difficult to address, but they are facing us in an environment that is increasingly unpredictable and complex. Although innovative, new tools are now available to water professionals to address these challenges, solving the water problems of tomorrow cannot be done by the water professionals alone. Instead, the city of the future, whether in the developed or developing world, must integrate water management planning and operations with other city services to meet the needs of humans and the environment in a dramatically superior manner. Water Sensitive Cities has been developed from selected papers from 2009 Singapore Water Week “Planning for Sustainable Solutions” and also papers taken from other IWA events. It pulls together material that supports the water professionals’ need for useful and up-to-date material. Authors: Carol Howe, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, The Netherlands Cynthia Mitchell, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

This book presents solutions to address water security in rapidly urbanizing cities, and explores the new paradigms of water security in changing contexts. Highlighting the latest developments in water research, changes in water policy, and current discourses on water security, the book also provides information and tools for local stakeholders, water managers, and policymakers to build the capacity for sustainable water governance. The book discusses a wide range of sustainable solutions and their implementation to ensure that the balance between water supply and demand remains sustainable in the long term, with a focus on local solutions to build capacity and developing policy awareness for a wide range of stakeholders. As the concept of urban water security in changing contexts is open to multiple interpretations, the authors set out various approaches. Providing an overview of the changing perspectives of urban water security in different contexts, the book is based on findings of the Asia-Pacific Network water security project at the United Nations University, Tokyo, as well as the authors' current research-based at Pokhara University, Nepal, Hosei University, Tokyo, Institute for the Global Environmental Strategies, Japan and the Australian National University, Australia. The book also includes the views of international authorities (such as water experts) on the subject. The solutions are complemented by analysis of case studies of various localized sustainable solutions at different scales. The book is a valuable resource for water professionals and policymakers around the globe, academics, teachers working in water-related areas, NGOs, think thanks, water research institutes, donor organizations, and international and local water utility services.

What are the regional differences in stormwater and wastewater management technology approaches to urbanization? How can wetland'extent and function be incorporated as an integral part of urban infrastructure systems, including effects on groundwater level? The Effects of Urbanization on Groundwater: An Engineering Case-Based Approach to Sustainable Development addresses these and a number of other key questions involving all phases of impact from the interactions among energy, environment, ecology, and socioeconomic paradigms in human society. To promote the concept of sustainable management, this unique book presents and applies sustainable systems engineering technologies and states the challenges of and opportunities for science, technology, and policy related to sustainable management of water. This book is organized into four parts: water supply and pollution prevention; storm water management with regional infiltration technologies; wastewater treatment and disposal with nutrient removal; and low impact development with landscape architecture technologies. These thematic areas cover the aspects from the fundamental theory to physical, chemical, and biological processes to the coupled human and natural environment, and to the representation of simulated evolutionary pathways. The Effects of Urbanization on Groundwater: An Engineering Case-Based Approach to Sustainable Development is timely and makes a strong case for sustainable development and management. It will help expose just how sensitive key water quantity and quality management targets are to urban development.

The current literature compartmentalizes the complex issue of water and wastewater into its discrete components; technology, planning, policy, construction, economics, etc. Considered from the perspective of sustainability, however, water in the urban environment must be approached as a single resource that can be continuously reused and recycled. This book will be the first to capture all of the current work on this idea in a single, integrated, plan for designing the water-centric cities of the future. From new construction to the retrofitting of existing systems, this book presents the case for a new urban relationship to water, one with a more sustainable connection to the environment and the hydrological cycle. Through case studies of successfully planned and built systems around the world, the book will educate the reader about the need for a new approach to urban water management, and make the case that these changes are not only possible but imperative.

Alternative Urban Futures challenges existing models of urban development and promotes alternative paradigms, processes, and technologies designed to fulfill human needs and limit the harmful impacts of human activities on the environment. The book focuses on how planners and policy makers can develop and manage essential urban infrastructures in ways that support sustainable development in the areas of waste management, water supply and management, energy production and use, building design and construction, land-use, transportation, and food systems. Each chapter features case studies that provide concrete examples of how ecologically and socially responsible urban and sustainable development planning and policy approaches have been successfully implemented in cities around the world. The book is especially effective in its emphasis on recently published statistics and writing supporting new planning and policy recommendations. Each chapter ends with a summary, accompanied by a list of questions that can be addressed with information provided in the text.

This report focuses on the urban water management challenges facing cities across OECD countries, and explores both national and local policy responses with respect to water-risk exposure, the state of urban infrastructures and dynamics, and institutional and governance architectures. The analyses focus on four mutually dependent dimensions – finance, innovation, urban-rural co-operation and governance – and proposes a solutions-oriented typology based on urban characteristics. The report underlines that sustainable urban water management will depend on collaboration across different tiers of government working together with local initiatives and stakeholders.