Filling the Gaps in Biophysical Knowledge of Urban Ecosystems: Flooding Mitigation and Stormwater Retention

Stefano Salata ()
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Stefano Salata: Lab PPTE, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-22

Abstract: Urban flooding is one of the most recognized problems cities must tackle in the coming decades due to climate change conditions. Nevertheless, the empirical knowledge of the biophysical capacity of cities to absorb, store or retain and release water after rainfall events is limited, partly due to the gaps that modeling has in terms of representing the complexity of urban systems. This limit, in turn, affects the decision-making process related to the system’s adaptation. This work aims to integrate two types of alternative spatial ecosystem modeling and see how results can be combined, evaluated and used in view of a more holistic comprehension of flooding phenomena while reaching a deeper understanding of the vulnerability to multiple types of rain events: flash floods versus annual precipitation. The results of the two modeling sessions will be analyzed and compared. They will be further used to gather a greater understanding of the biophysical complexity of Izmir’s Metropolitan City in Turkey: one of the most dynamic but climatically threatened urban areas in the Mediterranean basin. The findings confirm the extent to which empirical knowledge of the urban system is partial and uncertain, thus requiring continuous progress through ecosystem modeling to support an evolutive interpretation of biophysical performances based on trial and error.

Keywords: ecosystem services; pluvial flooding; rainwater management; adaptation; runoff (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:3:p:702-:d:1100673

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