URBAN WATERSCAPES Designing for Adaptive Resilience

Presentation Outline

CITY SYSTEMS

ANTHROPOCENTRIC CITY MODEL

natural capital [water & biodversity] plus waste externalities

have negligible economic value

WHICH SPECIES BUILDS

THE BEST CITIES?

TERMITE CITIES ARE PART OF NATURE WHY ARE HUMAN CITIES NOT?

BIONIC CITY

MODEL city as ecological suprasystem

METABOLISMS What systems do cities utilise?

Urban Biotope

BIONIC CITY

MODEL twelve key systems

CLIMATE CRISIS

1850s - US First commercial oil extraction

Global oil supply and demand

oil products

Crude oil

products

population increase vs global species extinction vs oil

uptake

OIL DEPLETION CLIMATE

CRISIS

atmospheric CO2

Available carbon vs safe maximum carbon emission

limit

ADAPT

Australian water consumption 2008-09

14,101 Gigalitres

Average National Water Footprints [water sourced externally as %]

Data Source: 2011 Mekonnen, M.M. and Hoekstra, A.Y.

(2011) National water footprint accounts:

the green, blue and grey water footprint of

production and consumption, Value of

Water Research Report Series No. 50,

UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands.

Urban Land-Use Ownership

Water Supply

City

Sewered

City

Drained

City

Waterways

City Water Cycle City Bionic City

Cumulative Cultural Drivers

System Advancement

Water Supply

access & security

Public Health

Protection Flood Protection

Social, amenity

environmental

Protection

Limits on natural

resources

Intergenerational

equity, resilience to

climate change

Supply

Hydraulics

Separate

sewerage

schemes

Drainage

channelisation

Point & diffuse

source pollution

management

Diverse, fit-for-

purpose sources

& conservation,

waterway

protection

Adaptive,

green

infrastructure &

urban design

Data Source: After Brown, Keath and Wong

(2009) Wat. Sci. & Tech. 59:5,

847-855

RESILIENCE

The Bionic City model utilises biomimicry to replicate the systems and processes of nature to optimise rather than maximise for increased resilience

Eum Yang Seoul, South Korea

Parramatta River Urban Strategy Parramatta, Sydney

Sa

lt w

ate

r

Fre

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wa

ter

Parramatta River City Where the waters meet

Circular Quay

Parramatta Quay

City Brand

Railway Station

Parramatta Quay

Civic Plaza

Existing Weir

Existing Wharf

Parramatta North

Mildura Riverfront Mildura, Australia

Stormwater from CBD Wetlands Riverfront irrigation

Potable Water

Riverfront development Blackwater treatment

Export to CBD

Non-Potable Water

Excess stormwater

Honeysuckle Master Plan Newcastle, Australia

Hellinikon Neopolis Athens, Greece

Green Square Town Centre Public Domain Sydney, Australia

06 water

SHEAS Stream - dry weather

SHEAS Stream - wet weather

Ballast Point Park BIRCHGROVE, SYDNEY

Masterplan

To tackle these global challenges we established the Biocity Studio. This research vehicle allows us to partner with universities, scientists, industry, NGOs and government to undertake urban sustainability research. We make the findings of this research open source and use it to inform our design work.

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