scholarly journals Aligning ancient and modern approaches to sustainable urban water management in China: Ningbo as a “Blue-Green City” in the “Sponge City” campaign

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e12451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y-T. Tang ◽  
F.K.S. Chan ◽  
E.C. O'Donnell ◽  
J. Griffiths ◽  
L. Lau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Sponge City ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Green City

scholarly journals Tacit knowledge in water management: a case study of Sponge City

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeyu Yao ◽  
Sarah Bell
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sponge City ◽  
Qualitative Thematic Analysis ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management

Sustainable, resilient urban water management is fundamental to good environmental and public health. As an interdisciplinary task, it faces enormous challenges from project complexity, network dynamics, and the tacit nature of knowledge being communicated between actors involved in design, decisions and delivery. Among others, some critical and persistent challenges to the implementation of sustainable urban water management include the lack of knowledge and expertise, lack of effective communication and collaboration, and lack of shared understanding and context. Using the Chinese Sponge City programme as a case study, this paper draws on the perspectives of Polanyi and Collins to investigate the extent to which knowledge can be used and exchanged between actors. Using Collins’ conceptualisation of the terrain of tacit knowledge, the study identifies the use of relational, somatic, and collective tacit knowledge in the Sponge City pilot project. Structured interviews with 38 people working on a Sponge City pilot project provided data that was rigorously analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. The paper is original in using theories of tacit knowledge to explain barriers and pathways for information and messages being communicated between actors in urban water management. The methods and results provide the groundwork for analysing the access and mobilisation of tacit knowledge in the Sponge City pilot project, with relevance for other complex, interdisciplinary environmental projects and programmes.

scholarly journals Exploring the Development of the Sponge City Program (SCP): The Case of Gui'an New District, Southwest China

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunfei Qi ◽  
Faith Ka Shun Chan ◽  
Emily C. O'Donnell ◽  
Meili Feng ◽  
Yanfang Sang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Sponge City ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Water Issues

Rapid urbanization has sharply increased the pressure of urban water issues (e.g., urban flooding and water pollution) in the Chinese megacities during last three decades. Sustainable urban water management approaches, such as Nature Based Solutions (NBS) and Low Impact Developments (LIDs), have successfully delivered long-term benefits to cities in Europe and North America. Similarly, the Chinese Sponge City Program (SCP) initiated in 2013 and experimented in 30 pilot Chinese cities. This paper reviewed the first stage of the SCP from 2015 to 2020 by using observation, Semi-Structured Interview (SSI) and Focus Group Approach (FGA) in context of Gui'an New Distinct, SW China to investigate the SCP progress and issues: (1). whether it is effectively solving urban water issues; (2). if there are any major challenges and barriers in the SCP practice. The findings of this case study provide potential solutions for improving the SCP and sustainable urban water management and possibly transform to other Sponge Cities in China.

Tacit knowledge in water management: a case study of Sponge City

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeyu Yao ◽  
Sarah Bell
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sponge City ◽  
Qualitative Thematic Analysis ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management

Sustainable, resilient urban water management is fundamental to good environmental and public health. As an interdisciplinary task, it faces enormous challenges from project complexity, network dynamics, and the tacit nature of knowledge being communicated between actors involved in design, decisions and delivery. Among others, some critical and persistent challenges to the implementation of sustainable urban water management include the lack of knowledge and expertise, lack of effective communication and collaboration, and lack of shared understanding and context. Using the Chinese Sponge City programme as a case study, this paper draws on the perspectives of Polanyi and Collins to investigate the extent to which knowledge can be used and exchanged between actors. Using Collins’ conceptualisation of the terrain of tacit knowledge, the study identifies the use of relational, somatic, and collective tacit knowledge in the Sponge City pilot project. Structured interviews with 38 people working on a Sponge City pilot project provided data that was rigorously analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. The paper is original in using theories of tacit knowledge to explain barriers and pathways for information and messages being communicated between actors in urban water management. The methods and results provide the groundwork for analysing the access and mobilisation of tacit knowledge in the Sponge City pilot project, with relevance for other complex, interdisciplinary environmental projects and programmes.

Working towards sustainable urban water management: the vulnerability blind spot

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 2362-2369 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Werbeloff ◽  
R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Blind Spot ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Diversity Strategy

The unprecedented water scarcity in Australia coincides with the adoption of a new urban water rhetoric. The ‘Security through Diversity’ strategy has been adopted in a number of Australian cities as a new and innovative approach to urban water management. Although this strategy offers a more holistic approach to urban water management, in practice, the Security through Diversity strategy is largely being interpreted and implemented in a way that maintains the historical dependence on large scale, centralised water infrastructure and therefore perpetuates existing urban water vulnerabilities. This research explores the implementation of Security through Diversity as the new water scarcity response strategy in the cities of Perth and Melbourne. Through a qualitative study with over sixty-five urban water practitioners, the results reveal that the practitioners have absorbed the new Security through Diversity language whilst maintaining the existing problem and solution framework for urban water management. This can be explained in terms of an entrenched technological path dependency and cognitive lock-in that is preventing practitioners from more comprehensively engaging with the complexities of the Security through Diversity strategy, which is ultimately perpetuating the existing vulnerability of our cities. This paper suggests that greater engagement with the underlying purpose of the security though diversity strategy is a necessary first step to overcome the constraints of the traditional technological paradigm and more effectively reduce the continued vulnerability of Australian cities.

Realising sustainable urban water management: Can social theory help?

2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Bos ◽  
R. R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
System Change ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
Technical Systems

It has been acknowledged, in Australia and beyond, that existing urban water systems and management lead to unsustainable outcomes. Therefore, our current socio-technical systems, consisting of institutions, structures and rules, which guide traditional urban water practices, need to change. If a change towards sustainable urban water management (SUWM) practices is to occur, a transformation of our established social-technical configuration that shapes the behaviour and decision making of actors is needed. While some constructive innovations that support this transformation have occurred, most innovations remain of a technical nature. These innovative projects do not manage to achieve the widespread social and institutional change needed for further diffusion and uptake of SUWM practices. Social theory, and its research, is increasingly being recognised as important in responding to the challenges associated with evolving to a more sustainable form of urban water management. This paper integrates three areas of social theories around change in order to provide a conceptual framework that can assist with socio-technical system change. This framework can be utilised by urban water practitioners in the design of interventions to stimulate transitions towards SUWM.

The role of membrane technology in sustainable decentralized wastewater systems

2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (10) ◽  
pp. 317-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.G. Fane ◽  
S.A. Fane
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Membrane Technology ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Decentralized Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management

Decentralized wastewater treatment has the potential to provide sanitation that meets criteria for sustainable urban water management in a manner that is less resource intensive and more cost effective than centralized approaches. It can facilitate water reuse and nutrient recovery and can potentially reduce the ecological risks of wastewater system failure and the community health risk in a wastewater reuse scheme. This paper examines the potential role of membrane technology in sustainable decentralized sanitation. It is argued that the combination of membrane technology within decentralized systems can satisfy many of the criteria for sustainable urban water management. In particular, the role of membranes as a dependable barrier in the wastewater treatment process can increase system reliability as well as lowering the latent risks due to wastewater reuse. The modular nature of membranes will allow plant size to range from single dwellings, through clusters to suburb size. It is concluded that realization of the potential for membrane-based technologies in decentralized wastewater treatment will require some progress both technically and institutionally. The areas where advances are necessary are outlined.

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