A regenerative urban stormwater management methodology. The role of SuDS construction and monitoring in the transition of a Mediterranean city.

Abstract

A regenerative urban stormwater management methodology. The role of SuDS construction and monitoring in the transition of a Mediterranean city. "Don't go through life, grow through life" Eric ButterworthA regenerative urban stormwater management methodology. The role of SuDS construction and monitoring in the transition of a Mediterranean city. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI would like to dedicate this thesis to my husband, Iñaki, for his unconditional support, at home and abroad.I am grateful to my thesis directors, Dr. Joaquín Andreu and Dr. Ignacio Andrés, for their guidance throughout the process. My special thanks to the latter, for all the fun moments we have enjoyed in between the hard work.A special mention of professor Chris Jefferies, to whom I am thankful for the orientation he has provided all along my career, both at the academic and the professional levels. Thanks also to Dr. Sue Charlesworth, for all that I learned during my stay at Coventry University.A warm gratitude to Susan Dodson, for her friendship and the time she has dedicated to improving the English grammar of my publications.And a special thanks to my parents, Carmen and Antonio; to my "new" parents, Maria and Roberto; and to Amparo, for transmitting their energy and believing in me.Last, but not least, a special mention to my offspring Pablo and Ana, who are happily accompanying me in the last part of this project.A regenerative urban stormwater management methodology. The role of SuDS construction and monitoring in the transition of a Mediterranean city. ABSTRACTUnder the well-known slogan 'think global, act local', cities in the 21 st century face the enormous challenge of catalyzing, intensifying and accelerating sustainable urban transformations. Without losing a holistic view, the methodology presented in this thesis places the focus on 'resource management and climate mitigation and adaptation', in particular in urban stormwater management, proposing processes that can bring about the required change, shaped by the place-based approach of the regenerative sustainability paradigm.Building upon literature and practice that supports a flexible approach to stormwater management in urban environments that mimic natural processes and predevelopment hydrology (Sustainable Drainage Systems, SuDS) as one way to, amongst others, help to prevent and adapt to climate change, the thesis highlights the relevance of the connection to the place for adoption of best practices that conduct towards a regenerative system. Hence, it incorporates this connection to the place to the SuDS representation, naming it the SuDS 'landed rocket'.The proposed methodology includes a conceptual framework, specific method and tools, that allows for the understanding and the characterization of the current situation of a urban stormwater system in a process that guides future actions to move towards the desired regenerative urban built environment concept, with a place-based holistic view.This methodology has been applied to Benaguasil, a Mediterranean city, where stormwater ma...

Community Involvement in the Implementation of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDSs): The Case of Bon Pastor, Barcelona

“…This idea is also supported by Perales Momparler [18], Carlson et al [6], and Zhou [9] but from another perspective, since they analyze stormwater as an isolated subject, highlighting how it used to be considered as something to "get rid of" while in the new paradigm, it is conceived of as a resource. For the past centuries, rapid urbanization and soil sealing has led to an increase of urban floods.…”

“…The increase of floods and especially flash floods worldwide and the traditional way of managing stormwater implied the decline in water quality and stream habitats, and the increase in stream erosion and potential for falling base flows [28]. Moreover, traditional drainage systems may cause overflows and pollution [9,18]. As highlighted in the previous section, the main objective of flood risk management used to be to keep water out of the city, so that it caused the minimum harm possible.…”

“…This research is based in the interaction between community and technicians, with the aim to reduce the gap between them since many communities have little or no knowledge about SUDSs. Both Brown [13] and Perales Momparler [18] argue that the redesign of the stormwater administration will allow the participation of more actors, and social organizations might gain a new position of power. Because of its decentralized nature [9,27,32,37], the ownership of these assets can belong to local actors, but, until today, urban stormwater management interventions are located in public areas and developed by city councils or private entities.…”

“…From here, the issue becomes very technical and appeals only those with technical interests and backgrounds. Similarly, Perales Momparler [18] criticizes the usual lack of interest of users when benefits are not immediate, tangible, or local.…”

“…Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 20 appeals only those with technical interests and backgrounds. Similarly, Perales Momparler [18] criticizes the usual lack of interest of users when benefits are not immediate, tangible, or local. Similarly, numerous authors refer to barriers faced by SUDSs as largely socio institutional (community, resources, responsibility, vision, commitment, and coordination) rather than technical [5,18,20,26,31,38].…”