Urban Land and Water Management

Water underlies the city. It keeps our cities liveable. It shapes them, creating space and supplying energy, coolness and pleasure. We need water. Not too much; but not too little. And the quality has to be right, too.
People like to live where there is water: in river valleys and in deltas. That means challenges for flood protection and urban planning. When we build infrastructure and design buildings, we have to take the soft subsurface into consideration. Without enough water, there may be subsidence and settlement.

Urban Land and Water Management is essential for sustainable urban development, particularly in river valleys and deltas. Due to the specific land and water management conditions, we call the cities in these locations Water Cities, because water underlies them.

Ambitions

The quality of the urban living environment is central to our work. Our living and working environment has to be designed and managed so that it is:

• Sustainable
  We can achieve this goal by using water as efficiently as possible and by investing in innovative technologies like heat and cold storage.
• Climate-robust
  Water management needs to be climate-resilient and allow for both higher temperatures and heavier rainfall. Good drainage and the minimisation of the risk of flooding are crucial here.
• Flexible and adaptable
  Urban concentrations in deltas and in coastal and river areas should be reasonably adaptable to factors like changes in climatic conditions, population profiles and the economic situation.
• Healthy
  Good urban water management takes into consideration public health, the environment and ecological systems. Investments in good drinking water, adequate drainage systems and surface water containing a minimum of pathogens and chemical contaminants are examples of this.
• Pleasant and agreeable
  Residents and visitors should find water in a city enjoyable, for example for recreational purposes.

It is up to us to plan and coordinate the land, the water, the infrastructure, the buildings and the inhabitants so that these ambitions are achieved.

Opportunities

Simply managing water and the land is not enough; particularly in the urban environment, we have to make better use of the opportunities they afford! Every square metre – every cubic metre – can be used more effectively. Local sources of water can be used for water supplies. They can be used for growing food; there are enough nutrients in the neighbourhood. Water and land can be used as solar collectors, but also as sources for cooling. People can live and work on or above water. Water and soil are the carriers of all sorts of natural purification processes. The challenge is to develop those new functions in the right way.

Vision

We have set out our vision of urban soil and water management in the future in: Land & Water Management in the Urban Environment (2009). And the Urban Water Management brochure describes the outlines of our R&D programme.
The main themes of our work are:

• safe, climate-robust cities;
• an improved urban living environment;
• cities without subsidence;
• the urbanisation of river basins.

Our work

We conduct research into, and advise on, specialist complex issues relating to urban land and water. We develop and test innovative solutions and we pass that knowledge on to you.

We frequently team up with other organisations (consultancy firms, other institutes or universities) because that is the most efficient and effective way forward. We see urban land and water management as a process of optimisation, design and negotiation all at the same time. Our aim is an integrated approach and tailored consultancy; in addition to the technical factors, we also address administrative, economic and social factors.

Downloads

leaflet on Urban Water Management (380 kb).
Land & Water management in the urban environment
GeoCheck Leakmangement