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Urban flooding is of growing concern due to increasing densification of urban areas, changes in land use, and climate change. The traditional engineering approach to flooding is designing single-purpose drainage systems, dams, and levees. These methods, however, are known to increase the long-term flood risk and harm the riverine ecosystems in urban as well as rural areas. In the present paper, we depart from resilience theory and suggest a concept to improve urban flood resilience. We identify areas where contemporary challenges call for improved collaborative urban flood management. The concept emphasizes resiliency and achieved synergy between increased capacity to handle stormwater runoff and improved experiential and functional quality of the urban environments. We identify research needs as well as experiments for improved sustainable and resilient stormwater management namely, flexibility of stormwater systems, energy use reduction, efficient land use, priority of transport and socioeconomic nexus, climate change impact, securing critical infrastructure, and resolving questions regarding responsibilities.

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Walking as a means of transportation is a key feature in sustainable urban design, but few studies have examined the influence of micro-level environmental features, such as vegetation and street lighting, on perceived safety and people’s choice to walk. This study applied a non-explicit approach to examine the relationship between greenery, street lighting, perceived safety, and walking in an urban context. Participants from three neighbourhoods in Malmö, Sweden, took part in focus group discussions concerning neighbourhood qualities related to walking.A qualitative analysis revealed four inter-related themes relevant for perceived safety after dark: avoidance, entrapment, presence of others, and prospect (visual overview of the nearby surroundings). The quality of urban greenery and street lighting impacted people’s route choices after dark, and some participants felt compelled to make detours. Entrapment, partly due to unkempt greenery in combination with darkness, contributed to avoidance, whereas the presence of other people had the opposite effect. The results indicate that urban greenery and street lighting must be considered together, since their interaction influences perceived safety and impacts the walkability of the neighbourhood.

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