2021 CAT A - Interlacing and Integration: Between the City and the Water
When a city has more than half of its land below sea level, what should it do to tackle climate change in 2050?
Dordrecht is the most ancient city across the Netherlands. Its destiny has been associated with water since nine centuries due to its low altitude. Despite the Delta Work and Dike constructions which brought an end to the periodic flooding caused by tides and rivers, stormwater floods within the city still posed the biggest threat.
However, the stormwater management in response to climate change can be regarded as an opportunity for renewing the urban space, and it can be addressed progressively from three perspectives: water, ecology and society:
Establish a hydrology resilient system, improve the ecological environment, and promote the relationship between human and water, so as to achieve the genuine interlacing and integration of water and city.
The fragmented green space in the city center has a vaguely visible shape facing south. The proposal is aimed to establish city-to-river continuity in a way that wetlands can share the discharge pressure. In the meantime, an improvement is made to this green ribbon as the places of leisure for integration between city and water. There are three critical measures that can be taken to address floods and the block between city and water source, including:
- Stormwater management
- Continuity of the river to the city
- Connection between the city and the water
