Sponge City+ Toolkit: Parametric Approaches for Sustainable Water Management and Urban Design

Ke Xu, Xiangyu Yu, Hanxiang Weng, Shanglin Wu, Ruicong Huang and Wei Mo ()
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Ke Xu: School of Architecture and Planning, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China
Xiangyu Yu: China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp. Ltd., Shanghai 100054, China
Hanxiang Weng: School of Architecture and Planning, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China
Shanglin Wu: School of Architecture and Planning, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China
Ruicong Huang: School of Architecture, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Wei Mo: School of Architecture and Planning, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-22

Abstract: This study proposes the Sponge City+ parametric design toolkit, which integrates low-impact development (LID) measures into urban design to support compliance checking, runoff risk analysis, and optimization of design alternatives. Compliance is evaluated using the annual runoff volume capture ratio (AVCR) calculated via the Volume Method, which is the core criterion in sponge city standards. The toolkit combines a measures database, runoff volume control functions, and runoff simulation functions to evaluate and compare design alternatives. Its applicability was tested through case studies of three university campuses in China. These cases were used to: (1) conduct a sensitivity analysis of the toolkit’s response to different LID strategies, ranking three typical LID measures (sunken green spaces > permeable pavements > green roofs) in terms of their contribution to runoff control; (2) perform multi-objective optimization considering cost, runoff control, and peak reduction, which, under ordinary PC computational capacity, efficiently identified 27 qualified solutions out of more than 5000 samples, thereby providing a broader set of design choices while ensuring compliance with runoff control requirements; and (3) demonstrate a design optimization process based on runoff visualization, where human–computer interaction helped avoid potential flood risks during the early design stage. This study demonstrates the potential of a parametric workflow to bridge disciplinary boundaries and support the achievement of global sustainability goals.

Keywords: parametric workflow; sustainable urban design; stormwater management; Low-Impact Development (LID); climate resilience; decision support; Grasshopper; Rhino (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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