After a summer of deadly floods in Beijing, oppressive heat waves in Shanghai, and intense rainstorms in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China’s biggest cities are grappling with urban planning in a new climate reality.

The Impact of Transforming China's Urban Centers Into Sponge Cities

BEIJING (AP) — To cushion the impact of extreme weather due to climate change, a Chinese landscape architect has been making the case for China and other countries to create so-called “sponge cities.

Our relationship with water has been thrown fatally off balance in many parts of the world this year.

China is re-engineering old cities and designing new ones to accept, rather than fight, natural water flows in a vast project spearheaded by ‘water detectives’

Cities in China are increasingly embracing nature and becoming “sponge cities” to prevent flooding, informs Deutsche Welle. The term sponge city refers to a nature-based solution which uses the landscape to retain water, slow down runoff and improve water quality throughout the process. It moves away from levees and channels to control water, and is akin to similar strategies by different names in all corners of the world, such as green infrastructure, sustainable urban drainage systems and low-...

In the coming decade, China is expanding its plans for sponge cities. They can help prevent flooding, promote biodiversity and cut emissions. But what exactly are these cities and how do they work?

The survival and development of human society depends on water. In fact, global water demand increased nearly eightfold between 1900–2010 as a result of factors like population growth, economic development and a shift in diet.

Inspired by the shape of ancient books, the designer uses horizontal lines as the main elements to form the concise and rhythmic outer skin of the building. The top of the building covers by a large number of windows, and the inner facade is composed of membrane structure. When the sun shines in, there is a hazy artistic conception. Combined with the marble floor pavement, antique scroll decoration over the middle hall and a little water system, it creates a quiet and solemn atmosphere, whic...