Paper / Urban Planning and Design
Flood risk and vital infrastructure
Engineering for flood resilience of dense coastal regions often neglects the impact on urban design quality. Vital subsurface infrastructure such as hydraulic systems, water networks, civil construction, transport, energy supply and soil systems are especially important in shaping the urban environment and integrating resilience. However, the complexity and resource intensive nature of these domains make it a challenge to incorporate them into design. This impedes proactive collaboration between the design and engineering communities. This study presents a collaborative design engineering exercise undertaken to find spatial solutions to flood-prone Edogawa ward in Tokyo, Japan. Hydraulic engineering solutions were combined with spatial planning methods to deliver two alternative planning strategies for the chosen site - Edogawa Water City and Parkway Edogawa. Each alternative was then evaluated for its urban design quality and effectiveness in reducing flood risk. The exercise highlighted that successful design requires comprehensive interdisciplinary collaboration to arrive at a sustainable bargain between hard and soft measures.
Paper | Exhibition