Sponge Cities in China

SUMMARY: Explores the unique story of Sponge Cities, China’s one-stop solution to their water crises, and unpacks the policies, technologies, and philosophies behind them. 

BIO:  Basant Apurva, Class of 2018, is a member of Sustainability Ambassadors who attends the Lakeside School. His passion for the natural world led him to join Sustainability Ambassadors in 2013. Since joining, his focus has expanded to the triple bottom line, and the intersection of ecological, economic, and social systems. Basant developed a workshop for teachers at the NWAIS  conference titled Lesson Ideas on Educating for Sustainability through an Equity lens.   Now, he is working to develop a network of sustainable student leaders throughout the private school network. He studies Mandarin in school, and spent the summer of 2016 working at a research lab at The National Taiwan University, which helped lead to his interest in Sponge Cities. 

ANNOTATED LINKS: 

A comprehensive introduction to Sponge Cities, their role in the environment, and the problems they address. Why China Wants to Build Something Called 'Sponge Cities'

A study written by a graduate student detailing the technicality of China's urbanized environment. http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/bitstream/123456789/194790/1/XiaQ_201102_BODY.pdf

Details China's water crises and the frameworks through which Sponge Cities will come into existence. https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/oct/03/china-government-solve-urban-planning-flooding-sponge-cities

A detailed analysis costs and consequences of Sponge Cities. http://chinawaterrisk.org/resources/analysis-reviews/sponge-cities-an-answer-to-floods/