By integrating solutions for facing down climate risk with smart urban planning and natural development, the town of Randers, Denmark, is building a landscape solution in the form of a park to guard against flooding.
Storkeengen, or Stork Meadow, uses wetland meadows to handle raised stormwater level. Rainfall will be routed from roofs, roads and parking lots to the park, where the water will be naturally purified in basins designed as meadows; water will then be routed to the Gudena River, according to park architects CF Moller (via Architecture Daily).
The climate adaptation project, resulting from the cooperation of CF Møller Landscape and Orbicon with Randers Vanmilijø and Randers Municipality, was developed as a project to guard against climate change risk while ensuring an understanding of the connection between the town and natural landscape.
As climate change risk forces city planners to reevaluate their water management practices, wetlands are becoming a more common solution.
In Shanghai, for example, an area known as Lingang is being reimagined as a “sponge city” – with green infrastructure like wetland areas and green roofs replacing concrete in many places – as an alternative to traditional flood defences and drainage systems, according to The Guardian. The coastal city faces long-term risks from rising sea levels.
