Much of the modern world is built on the idea that we can control water. But concrete infrastructure is failing amid unprecedented levels of rain. With ‘sponge cities,’ landscape architect Kongjian Yu turns to nature for solutions.

Sanya

The traditional approach to flood management, relying heavily on concrete infrastructure such as dams, drains, and seawalls, is increasingly being challenged by experts. These 'grey' solutions are criticized for their environmental impact, lack of resilience, and failure during extreme weather events. Landscape architect Kong Zhangyu and his firm Turinscape are promoting nature-based solutions, such as the 'sponge city' model, which restores wetlands and uses native vegetation to absorb and slow water, reducing flood risks and providing ecological benefits.

At Peking University, a former concrete-paved area has been transformed into a wetland that can accommodate seasonal floods, cool the environment, and support biodiversity. Advocates stress that while concrete cannot be eliminated entirely, a shift in societal attitudes toward water management is needed, emphasizing adaptation and coexistence with natural water cycles.

Why concrete might be doing harm in the fight against flood risks

From dams to drains, aqueducts to seawalls, much of the modern world was built on the idea that we can control water. But that idea is increasingly being challenged, and concrete infrastructure designed to tame water is failing, sometimes with catastrophic consequences. It's time to ask the question, what other way can we adapt this climate change? Kong Zhangyu is one of a growing number of landscape architects and urban planners turning to nature for solutions. With his firm Turinscape, he's built over a thousand projects in more than 200 cities to reform our relationship with water. Sponge City and now Sponge Planet is our vision to restore the harmonious relationship or I call it the land-based, water-driven solution. So what is Yu's sponge solution? To see how it works, we went to Peking University in Beijing, where he leads the College of Architecture and Landscape. Every year during the monsoon season, the flood will come up here, one metre or even two metres. The conventional solution is to build concrete infrastructure, but here we actually make friends with water. This lush wetland was once paved in concrete, and the river that runs through the campus was channelised. This section we didn't transform yet. The municipal government tried to flush away the flood. Concrete-based water management like this, known as grey infrastructure, can be seen around the world. Those strategies not only create more and more carbon emissions, it is lifeless, it is ugly and dangerous, because whenever a flood happens, an overflow can happen. All the grey infrastructure will fail, because this infrastructure was first invented in early developed countries. Every month you have almost equal amount of precipitation. Today the whole world becomes monsoon-like. You need to get inspirations from the ancient monsoon cities. Low-tech, not high-tech. So here we remove all the concrete, and we create terraces, and we put all the native grass, so the whole area can be flooded. So we give water space. When you give water more space, the water becomes friendly. In that way we can avoid the destructive force of water. It is cool, about 5 degrees temperature difference from the rest of the campus, and it becomes a habitat for all kinds of birds, fish, and the vegetation, of course. That's the idea, to retain water, to slow down water, to embrace water. Many countries have similar ideas to make sponge city different. It is deeply rooted in the monsoon culture. It doesn't mean get rid of all concrete. We have to have a new kind of behavior towards water. So this is not just engineering, not just policy, this is a societal transformation. Water is the key. Without water, we have no living planet.

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