Will 'sponge cities' finally solve Germany's flood problem?
05 June 2024
Bavaria entered a state of emergency this weekend as catastrophic floods caused by heavy rainfall spread across southern Germany. As of yesterday, five people have died, and thousands have been forced to evacuate. In a visit to the region on Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz acknowledged that extreme floods are no longer exceptional and that "we must not neglect the task of stopping man-made climate change."
A concept called 'sponge cities' may just be the solution. Instead of working against nature, 'sponge cities' incorporate green spaces into city infrastructure, absorbing excess rainwater to prevent sewage systems from overflowing. Cities would then be able to handle more extreme weather without the risk of flooding.
 | Emma de Ruiter It seems like an ideal solution - who wouldn't want their city covered in plants and flowers? In Hamburg and Berlin, the vision is slowly becoming a reality, but cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen have been transforming into sponge cities on a much bigger scale. In Copenhagen, a disastrous flood in 2011 prompted swift action to transform into a sponge city. And blue-green roofs already cover 9000 square metres of Amsterdam's rooftops. It is safe to say that the concept also has downsides, such as initially requiring significant investment in green infrastructure, as well as continuous maintenance costs. Overall, widely implementing 'sponge cities' would require politicians and citizens to have a different thinking about our urban spaces. Yet, Dr. Heiko Sieker from Technical University of Berlin believes that it is by far “the best and cheapest way to adapt to climate change” for cities that have problems with heat and floods. While ‘sponge cities’ may solve Germany's and other countries’ flood problems, authorities still need to work much faster to make them a reality. |
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