Bergen city centre is prone to both subsidence and flooding. With a predicted increase in precipitation due to climate change, a higher proportion of rainfall becomes surface runoff, which results in increased peak flood discharges. In addition, it has been predicted that sea-level rise and increasing storm surges will result in coastal flooding. In this study, the dual hazards of flooding and subsidence are analysed to exemplify possible risk assessment maps for areas most prone to the combination of both. Risk assessment maps are a support tool to identify areas where mitigation of subsidence and adaptation for surface water management will be most efficient and measures can be implemented. The results show that dual hazard assessment, like that described in this paper, can be a useful tool for decision-makers when prioritizing areas to implement measures such as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems.
MULTIFILE
Stormwater flooding and thermal stresses of citizens are two important phenomena for most of the dense urban area. Due to the climate change, these two phenomena will occur more frequently and cause serious problems. Therefore, the sectors for public health and disaster management should be able to assess the vulnerability to stormwater flooding and thermal stress. To achieve this goal, two cities in different climate regions and with different urban context have been selected as the pilot areas, i.eY., Tainan, Taiwan and Groningen, Netherlands. Stormwater flooding and thermal stress maps will be produced for both cities for further comparison. The flooding map indicates vulnerable low lying areas, where the thermal stress map indicates high Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) values (thermal comfort) in open areas without shading. The combined map indicates the problem areas of flooding and thermal stress and can be used by urban planners and other stakeholders to improve the living environment.
One of the goals for the JPI Water funded project INovations for eXtreme Climatic Events (INXCES) is to provide risk assessment tools for urban hydro-climatic events. Combining disciplines increases the capacity to manage and improve the mitigation of the infrastructure for stormwater in urban areas. INXCES is an European collaboration among the cites Bergen, NO, Groningen, NL, Bucharest, RO, and Luleå, SE.In urban areas infrastructure, such as sewage and drainage systems, is installed in the subsurface to cope with surface water and stormwater runoff. However, the natural patterns are preferred hence human effort. A flood model using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) show the flow patterns of stormwater and areas exposed to flooding. Combining mapping of natural flow paths and floodmodelling, areas prone to flooding is accentuated. The subsurface infrastructure in these prone areas are exposed to larger quantities of water during heavy rainfall events, which is becoming more frequent due to climate change. Results from this interdisciplinary study, will give the water and wastewater authority a risk assessment to pinpoint areas where water infrastructure is more exposedto failure, clogging and damages. Furthermore, we argue that areas that are prone to repeated flooding are more exposed for subsidence in the ground. Larger movement in the ground will cause damage to the infrastructure, such ascracking of pipelines and damage to buildings, roads etc. By combining results mentioned above with subsidence data (InSAR date collected from Satellites), a risk assessment map can show areas to prioritize. Subsurface measures such as SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) can be a resilient solution to a recurrent problem in an urban area, as a remediation to flooding (and drought)and as stabilisation of ground conditions.
This PD project aims to gather new knowledge through artistic and participatory design research within neighbourhoods for possible ways of addressing and understanding the avoidance and numbness caused by feelings of vulnerability, discomfort and pain associated with eco-anxiety and chronic fear of environmental doom. The project will include artistic production and suitable forms of fieldwork. The objectives of the PD are to find answers to the practice problem of society which call for art that sensitises, makes aware and helps initiate behavioural change around the consequences of climate change. Rather than visualize future sea levels directly, it will seek to engage with climate change in a metaphorical and poetic way. Neither a doom nor an overly techno-optimistic scenario seem useful to understand the complexity of flood risk management or the dangers of flooding. By challenging both perspectives with artistic means, this research hopes to counter eco-anxiety and create a sense of open thought and susceptibility to new ideas, feelings and chains of thought. Animation and humour, are possible ingredients. The objective is to find and create multiple Dutch water stories, not just one. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop new methods for selecting and repurposing existing impactful stories and strong images. Citizens and students will be included to do so via fieldwork. In addition, archival materials will be used. Archives serve as a repository for memory recollection and reuse, selecting material from the audiovisual archive of the Institute of Sound & Vision will be a crucial part of the creative work which will include two films and accompanying music.
The research proposal aims to improve the design and verification process for coastal protection works. With global sea levels rising, the Netherlands, in particular, faces the challenge of protecting its coastline from potential flooding. Four strategies for coastal protection are recognized: protection-closed (dikes, dams, dunes), protection-open (storm surge barriers), advancing the coastline (beach suppletion, reclamation), and accommodation through "living with water" concepts. The construction process of coastal protection works involves collaboration between the client and contractors. Different roles, such as project management, project control, stakeholder management, technical management, and contract management, work together to ensure the project's success. The design and verification process is crucial in coastal protection projects. The contract may include functional requirements or detailed design specifications. Design drawings with tolerances are created before construction begins. During construction and final verification, the design is measured using survey data. The accuracy of the measurement techniques used can impact the construction process and may lead to contractual issues if not properly planned. The problem addressed in the research proposal is the lack of a comprehensive and consistent process for defining and verifying design specifications in coastal protection projects. Existing documents focus on specific aspects of the process but do not provide a holistic approach. The research aims to improve the definition and verification of design specifications through a systematic review of contractual parameters and survey methods. It seeks to reduce potential claims, improve safety, enhance the competitiveness of maritime construction companies, and decrease time spent on contractual discussions. The research will have several outcomes, including a body of knowledge describing existing and best practices, a set of best practices and recommendations for verifying specific design parameters, and supporting documents such as algorithms for verification.
Restoring rivers with an integrated approach that combines water safety, nature development and gravel mining remains a challenge. Also for the Grensmaas, the most southern trajectory of the Dutch main river Maas, that crosses the border with Belgium in the south of Limburg. The first plans (“Plan Ooievaar”) were already developed in the 1980s and were highly innovative and controversial, as they were based on the idea of using nature-based solutions combined with social-economic development. Severe floodings in 1993 and 1995 came as a shock and accelerated the process to implement the associated measures. To address the multifunctionality of the river, the Grensmaas consortium was set up by public and private parties (the largest public-private partnership ever formed in the Netherlands) to have an effective, scalable and socially accepted project. However, despite the shared long term vision and the further development of plans during the process it was hard to satisfy all the goals in the long run. While stakeholders agreed on the long-term goal, the path towards that goal remains disputed and depends on the perceived status quo and urgency of the problem. Moreover, internal and external pressures and disturbances like climate change or the economic crisis influenced perception and economic conditions of stakeholders differently. In this research we will identify relevant system-processes connected to the implementation of nature-based solutions through the lens of social-ecological resilience. This knowledge will be used to co-create management plans that effectively improve the long-term resilience of the Dutch main water systems.
