Beginning in 2006, a new urban district, Qunli New Town, in the size of 2733 Hectares, was planned to be developed at the east outskirt of Haerbin City of North China. 32 million square meters of buildings will be constructed in 13-15 years. More than one third of a million population are expected to live here. While only about 16.4% of the developable land was zoned as permeable green space, the majority of the former flat plain will be covered with impermeable concrete. While the annual rain...

Threeyearsago,whenfloodinginBeijingkilled79people,theChinesegovernmentwasquicktoblamethesizeofthestorm,notthecity’sfailingdrainagesystem.Buttheexcusedidn’tpersuadethepublic.Newsreportsoffatalfloodscomeasregularlytocitydwellersastheannualmonsoonseason.

Beginningin2006,anewurbandistrict,QunliNewTown,inthesizeof2733Hectares,wasplannedtobedevelopedattheeastoutskirtofHaerbinCityofNorthChina.32millionsquaremetersofbuildingswillbeconstructedin13-15years.Morethanonethirdofamillionpopulationareexpectedtolivehere.Whileonlyabout16.4%ofthedevelopablelandwaszonedaspermeablegreenspace,themajorityoftheformerflatplainwillbecoveredwithimpermeableconcrete.Whiletheannualrainfallofthisareais567mmandconcentratedinJunethroughAugust(accountfor60-70%ofannualprecipi...