DELO: Death of the Father of the Sponge City — The City That Holds Water

This article reports on the tragic death of renowned Chinese landscape architect and Beijing University professor Kongjian Yu in a small plane crash in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in September 2025. Widely acclaimed by the media as the “father of sponge cities,” Yu was a pioneering advocate of sponge city concepts that have significantly influenced global approaches to climate adaptation, urban water management, and ecological restoration. He was in Brazil filming a documentary on the importance of wetlands when the accident occurred. The article highlights his outstanding contributions to contemporary urban design and ecological planning, particularly his leadership in promoting environmentally sustainable urban development and resilient water systems.

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Source: https://www.delo.si/sobotna-priloga/smrt-oceta-mesta-spuzve-mesta-ki-zadrzuje-vodo