This book focuses on Kolkata, formerly the colonial capital of and currently a major megacity in India, in terms of its extensive blue infrastructures, i.e., its rivers, canals and wetlands as an integrated composite whole. It unfolds ways in which this reclaimed urban space could determine, and in turn, could get determined by political fate, economic calculations and social livelihoods across changing political-economic imperatives and with large-scale implications on urban sustainability. Employing historical urban political ecology (HUPE) as the methodological framework by combining urban environmental history and urban political ecology, the book studies the changing urban environmental equations through several centuries, and its impact on the city and its people. Weaving the past, present and posterity of deltaic Kolkata, the book demonstrates that it is in these ‘blue infrastructures’ that the anecdote of origin, the account of functioning and the apprehension of survival of the city is rooted. By emphasizing the ecology ‘of’ cities instead of ecology ‘in’ cities approach, the book exposes the limitations of contemporary ecological restructuring efforts regarding Indian cities. Further, it offers a blueprint for future innovative and empirical research focusing on other major cities. Accordingly, this topical and original book will be of interest to students and researchers of environmental humanities, political ecology and urban studies.

This book offers new research on urban policy innovations that promote the application of blue-green infrastructure in managing water resources sustainably. The author argues that urban water managers have traditionally relied on grey infrastructural solutions to mitigate risks with numerous economic and environmental consequences. Brears explores the role urban water managers have in implementing blue-green infrastructure to reduce ecological damage and mitigate risk. The case studies in this book illustrate how cities, of differing climates, lifestyles and income-levels, have implemented policy innovations that promote the application of blue-green infrastructure in managing water, wastewater and stormwater sustainably to reduce environmental degradation and enhance resilience to climate change. This new research on urban policy innovations that promote the application of blue-green infrastructure in managing water resources sustainably will be of interest to those working on water conservation and policy.

Urban Sustainability and River Restoration: Green and Blue Infrastructure considers the integration of green and blue infrastructure in cities as a strategy useful for acting on causes and effects of environmental and ecological issues. River restoration projects are unique opportunities for sustainable development and smart growth of communities, providing multiple environmental, economic, and social benefits.This book analyzes initiatives and actions carried out and developed to improve environmental conditions in cities and better understand the environmental impact of (and in) dense urban areas in the United States and in Europe.

This edited book discusses Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) from conception to implementation in building resilience and urban sustainability. The book emphasizes on infrastructures, institutions, and perceptions as three main pillars of implementing and managing successful BGI, with a special focus on Asia. The book highlights concepts as well as field-based experiences from different parts of Asia by experts, with a special focus on advances and opportunities in advancing BGI, challenges and constraints, followed by case studies on BGI mainstreaming. It addresses sustainable water management, multiscale environmental design, environmental risk assessment, and finally understanding policy implications and concerns for BGI mainstreaming in growing urban sprawls of the region. There has been growing global momentum and recognition of Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) as a multifunctional Nature-based Solution (NbS) with multiple co-benefits. There is strong evidence from many urban centres of Europe, USA, China, and South Africa demonstrating that mainstreaming BGI can help in addressing growing vulnerability of urban areas by ensuring safety, resilience, and sustainability for urban residents in the warming world. This book is a timely contribution for researchers, students, scholars, urban planners, consultants, and policy makers in the fields of environment, resilience, urban planning, climate adaptation, and sustainability science.

An increment of urban flood risk in many areas around the globe is expected, accentuated due to climate change and urbanisation. Thus, appropriate flood risk management is crucial. Conventional approaches focus on grey infrastructure, which frequently do not address the root causes of risk. A change of paradigm is needed to develop effective adaptation strategies. Green-blue infrastructure (GBI) is a central concept to achieve adaptation to climate change. Its main strength is the ability to deliver multiple benefits. Although strong evidence exists demonstrating that GBI is a sustainable solution to reduce flooding, its adoption is still slow. Therefore, the objective of this research is to help decision-makers to adopt adaptation strategies to cope with flood risk while achieving other benefits. This study provides a framework which introduces co-benefits into decision-making for stormwater infrastructure planning. Besides, the multiple benefits are quantified and their impact on helping GBI implementation are evaluated. Finally, the effects of including co-benefits on the selection of flood mitigation strategies and the trade-offs among cost and benefits are assessed. This work contributes to enhance planning processes for flood mitigation combining green-blue-grey measures. It provides tools and knowledge to facilitate holistic decision-making, in order to ensure safe and liveable urban spaces for current and future conditions.

An increment of urban flood risk in many areas around the globe is expected, accentuated due to climate change and urbanisation. Thus, appropriate flood risk management is crucial. Conventional approaches focus on grey infrastructure, which frequently do not address the root causes of risk. A change of paradigm is needed to develop effective adaptation strategies. Green-blue infrastructure (GBI) is a central concept to achieve adaptation to climate change. Its main strength is the ability to deliver multiple benefits. Although strong evidence exists demonstrating that GBI is a sustainable solution to reduce flooding, its adoption is still slow. Therefore, the objective of this research is to help decision-makers to adopt adaptation strategies to cope with flood risk while achieving other benefits. This study provides a framework which introduces co-benefits into decision-making for stormwater infrastructure planning. Besides, the multiple benefits are quantified and their impact on helping GBI implementation are evaluated. Finally, the effects of including co-benefits on the selection of flood mitigation strategies and the trade-offs among cost and benefits are assessed. This work contributes to enhance planning processes for flood mitigation combining green-blue-grey measures. It provides tools and knowledge to facilitate holistic decision-making, in order to ensure safe and liveable urban spaces for current and future conditions.

This open access book brings together research findings and experiences from science, policy and practice to highlight and debate the importance of nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation in urban areas. Emphasis is given to the potential of nature-based approaches to create multiple-benefits for society. The expert contributions present recommendations for creating synergies between ongoing policy processes, scientific programmes and practical implementation of climate change and nature conservation measures in global urban areas. Except where otherwise noted, this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/