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Arup Global
Sponge Cities
Snapshot
Using digital tools to understand the natural absorbency
of cities to cope with increasingly heavy rainfall
Contents

Introduction 4

Foreword 5 Using digital tools to understand the natural absorbency

How we rated the cities’ ‘sponginess’ of6 cities to cope with increasingly heavy rainfall
Sponge snapshot results 7

City Profiles 9
Auckland 11
London 13
Montreal 15
Mumbai 17
Nairobi 19
New York City 21
Shanghai 23
Singapore 25
Sydney 27
Toronto 29

Future recommendations 32
Introduction

Cities can’t go on being concrete jungles, in This report is focused on looking at the value of Once we know our natural baseline, we can then
conflict with nature. To flourish, cities need to blue and green features in helping cities tackle understand better how to enhance, extend and work
work ‘in tune’ with nature. They need to learn storm events. Nature-based solutions can also be with these natural assets. We have the power to
quickly how to deploy nature-based solutions that applied to a whole host of problems that climate harness this natural absorbency, moving away from
bring far wider benefits than traditional engineered change will bring such as extreme heat and drought. the reliance on some of the traditional engineered
‘grey’ infrastructure and contribute positively to As well as fighting to keep global warming to ‘grey’ solutions that are not necessarily best
biodiversity and carbon reduction. There’s good below 2 degrees Celsius, we need to build the equipped to deal with the effects of climate change,
news – powerful new digital mapping tools now resilience of our cities and communities in dealing including pumps, pipes and storage tanks. I hope
exist to help us understand cities as complex with the effects of climate change. One of those this report starts a conversation and gives people
systems, allowing us to adopt nature-based major risks is flooding. an understanding and confidence that nature-based
solutions in our projects. This now needs to be infrastructure solutions can be deployed, bringing
Our survey ranks the current natural absorbency
accelerated on a global scale. more resilient, cleaner, healthier, and happier cities.
or ‘sponginess’ of several cities from around the
We have developed the Global Sponge Cities world. It has been compiled using our digital tool,
Snapshot to highlight the importance of Terrain, and quantifies the amount of green (grass,
understanding a city’s natural ability to manage trees) and blue (for example, ponds or lakes)
heavy rainfall, as a critical first step to enhancing infrastructure in the urban centre of the cities versus
this ability. It does not answer all the questions, the amount of grey (buildings and hard surfaces).
but it is aimed at accelerating a much-needed It considers a multitude of land ‘types’: not only
conversation – giving cities more insight into identifying greenery in public park lands, but also
their existing blue and green infrastructure. Our in private gardens and around buildings.
message is simple: cities need to be asking – ‘how
spongy am I?’. We need to get used to measuring
and understanding our existing blue and green
infrastructure to help us strengthen it. Our green
and blue assets – grass, trees, bushes, lakes and
ponds – need to be quantified and valued in the
Greener Grangetown
same way we have treated other resources, such as
As part of the Greener Grangetown project in Cardiff, UK, ‘rain
pumps and concrete pipes. gardens’ have been created to slow rainwater run-off flows,
Mark Fletcher removing more than 40,000 cubic metres of rainwater each year
Arup Global Water Leader  from entering the combined sewer network. Read more.
Foreword

For millennia, civilisations across the world learned The Global Sponge Cities Snapshot study helps
to live with and utilise the nature around them highlight the opportunity for cities to move away
– from ancient irrigation systems to present-day from the unsustainable and costly interventions,
rainwater gardens to manage rain water. Under towards green and blue solutions. I hope cities
the influence of climate change and rapid urban across the world take notice and find ways to better
development, the problem of urban stormwater ultilise their natural assets.
systems is particularly serious, showing many
Professor Li Junqi
problems such as frequent flood disasters, water
Beijing University of Civil Engineering and
environment deterioration, water resource shortage
Architecture
and water ecological destruction.
The nature based solution based on natural
sponging improves the toughness of urban
rainwater system from two perspectives of
‘For millennia,
‘adaptation’ and ‘mitigation’. Although on the civilisations across the
whole, it is a common consensus to improve
the urban rainwater system by combining blue, world learned to live
green and grey, different countries or cities have
developed and implemented different standard with and utilise the
systems according to their own conditions, which
leads to certain differences in management modes nature around them’
and actual effects of stormwater control. In fact,
different cities and their regions have different Professor Li Junqi, Beijing University of Civil
Engineering and Architecture
problems, characteristics and goals. I think
sponge city is multi-objective and can be adjusted
according to the actual situation. Sponge city can be
applied to any climate and geology conditions.
How we rated the cities’ ‘sponginess’

How spongy is my city? What is its 1. Measuring the amount of green and blue space 2. Accounting for soil types 3. Calculating water runoff potential for green areas
natural ability to absorb rainfall? using our advanced digital tool
Once we had the percentage of blue, green and grey With the impact of soil type factored in, we then
These are questions that cities need to be asking We have set out to rapidly and accurately measure spaces for each city, the next step was to factor in used the Curve Number method – a simple, widely
themselves if they are to cope with one of the major the trees, grass and waterbodies in the urban centres the impact of different soil types and vegetation in used method – to calculate the amount of runoff
impacts of climate change – increased flooding. of the cities to get a far better understanding of their each city. from a defined rainfall event.
Using the survey as a ‘lens’, we have set out to natural absorbency. We have calculated this using
Using a global database of hydrologic soil groups Imagine rain falling onto a surface: it is either
shed more light on the natural absorbency of cities our sophisticated digital mapping tool, Terrain,
(HYSOGs250m), we were able to calculate the absorbed or ‘stored’ in the soil – potentially adding
around the world and their natural ability to manage which uses machine learning techniques to produce
amount of each major hydrological soil type to groundwater stores – or slowly makes its way to
increasingly heavy and sustained periods of rainfall. a high-quality land use assessment from satellite
present in each city. Soil types have a significant water bodies. Alternatively, it runs off the land and
images.
We examined diverse cities across the world with impact on the amount of water runoff and therefore therefore contributes to storm flow and potential
different urban profiles – from the densely packed To carry out the analysis, we secured detailed a city’s sponginess. This can be due to the soil flooding: this is the rainfall runoff potential.
Mumbai to Auckland, which is known for its satellite imagery for each city from commercial and type and texture – for example, sandy soils are
The amount of runoff is affected by the vegetation
generous public parklands. open sources. We ensured that this imagery covered ‘spongier’ than clay-based soils; as well as depth
cover; in our examples, we considered whether
approximately 150 square kilometres over a city’s of soil and depth to the water table – for example,
We have given each city a sponginess rating based the soil was grass covered open space in ‘Fair
main urban centre, to provide a representative study a groundwater table close to the surface reduces
on three major factors: the amount of green and Condition’ or a tree-grass mix. Rainfall runoff
area. sponge capacity of the soil.
blue space within the urban environment; the potential also varies according to the amount of rain
hydrological properties of the soil in each city, and We then trained the machine learning model to that falls, so for our calculations we looked at the
the water runoff potential for green areas. recognise multiple typologies – between 8 and runoff potential for 50 mm of rain falling in a day
15, depending on the city – for example, low for each city – this would be equivalent to a 1 in
rise residential, tower blocks or urban parks. We 5-year rainfall event in London or an annual event
then took samples from each typology and for in New York. For blue spaces within the typologies,
each of the samples we measured the amount of the assumption is that all the rainfall is absorbed.
grass, trees, water bodies and ‘grey infrastructure’
– hard paved surfaces and buildings. This gave
us an average amount of blue, green and grey
infrastructure for each typology in each city, which
can then be multiplied by the amount of each
typology in the city – giving us a breakdown of
green, blue and grey surface areas for each city.
How we rated the cities’ ‘sponginess’

Sponge Ranking Overview

In summary, we calculated the percentage of blue,

green and grey infrastructure in a city, factored in
the impact of soil types and vegetation, and finally
the water runoff potential. We then used this to
produce a calculation of a city’s natural absorbency
from its green and blue spaces – and the greater the
natural absorbency, the higher the sponge ranking.
We would recommend cities also consider
factors such as sewer network capacity or flood
storage areas. In this study we do not consider
the comparative performance of the cities’ built
environment, e.g. stormwater sewer network %
capacity or rainwater harvesting potential, in
managing heavy rainfall. We have excluded
Blue, Green and Grey
Infrastructure
+ Soil Types and
Vegetation
+ The Water Runoff
Potential
= City’s Natural
Absorbency
Sponge City
Ranking
the main waterbodies from each city, such as
the Hudson River. This is to try to avoid main
waterbody areas distorting the results for this study.
Where water bodies are assessed within other
typologies such as lakes or within parks, then these
are retained.
What this survey provides cities is a good
indication of their baseline as a step to building a
comprehensive plan to enhancing their nature-based
infrastructure.
Sponge Snapshot results City Sponge Ranking Overall % ‘sponginess’ Green-Blue Area % Soil Classification and Runoff Potential Notes

Moderately-high runoff potential

What we found Auckland 1 35% 50%
(<60% sand and 10-20% clay)
We evaluated each city’s overall
High runoff potential Shallow soils and
‘sponginess’ based upon three factors: Nairobi 2 34% 52%
(<50% sand and >40% clay) depth to bedrock
– Amount of blue and green space
Moderately-high runoff potential
– Soil type factors Singapore 3 30% 45%
(<60% sand and 20-50% clay)
– Water runoff potential
High runoff potential shallow soils and water table
Mumbai 3 30% 45%
(<50% sand and 20-40% clay) and/or depth to bedrock

Moderately-low runoff potential

New York City 3 30% 39%
(40-70% sand and <10% clay)

Moderately-high runoff potential

Toronto 3 30% 39%
(<50% sand, 20-40% clay)

Moderately-high runoff potential

Montreal 4 29% 36%
(<50% sand and 20-40% clay)

Moderately-high runoff potential

Shanghai 5 28% 33%
(<50% sand and 20-40% clay)

Moderately-high runoff potential

London 6 22% 31%
(<50% sand and 20-40% clay)

Moderately-high runoff potential

Sydney 7 18% 24%
(>60% sand, 10-30% clay)
Sponge Cities

Auckland Shanghai

Montreal Mumbai

New York City Sydney

London Singapore

Nairobi Toronto
Auckland
Auckland City Dashboard
Auckland Analysis

Area surveyed Sponge ranking

The most populous urban area in New Zealand,

Auckland has an urban population of around 1.4
Despite having a high volume of low-rise residential
developments, there is an abundance of green
This reflects a city generally well-prepared for
significant levels of rainfall, and that is important
Ranking 1 st
million. Auckland is one of the few cities in the infrastructure spread throughout Auckland, with given the maximum amount for an hour period in
world to have a harbour on each of two separate housing often including good-sized gardens, and an average year is 20.6mm.
major bodies of water. The study area featured large urban parks featuring across the city. It is the
The city’s top ‘sponge ranking’ was achieved Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces
central districts including Newmarket and Mount green areas within the low rise residential that have
primarily due to the high percentage of green-blue
Eden. It is dominated by low-rise residential helped the city have a high green-blue percentage,
properties, with a significant proportion of second only to Nairobi. The recently announced
surfaces, even after excluding the harbour from the
calculations. Much of the soil within Auckland’s
35% 50%
medium-rise commercial buildings. As well as National Policy Statement on Urban Development Green / Blue
central Isthmus has relatively high infiltration
featuring Mount Wellington, there are a number has allowed conversion of low density residential
potential within pervious areas. There are several
of green spaces across the area, including parks areas to medium density up to three storeys, which
suburbs within the study area where disposal to
and golf courses. is expected to create significant changes to the urban Soil characteristics
soakage is often the primary means of stormwater
form in Auckland. Moderately-high runoff potential
management.
Flood risk Industrial parks lack green infrastructure, but these
are clustered and often border parkland, grassed
It is worth noting the study assessed that Auckland <60% 10-20%
Auckland has experienced heavy rain events, storm had a lower percentage of trees compared to New Sand Clay
surges, coastal inundation and droughts, which are areas and farmland. All of these factors have helped
York, Singapore and Mumbai.
expected to become all the more frequent. Auckland, a low-lying coastal city with an annual
average rainfall of 1210mm, rank more highly in our
Since 2010, over 14% of all natural disasters survey.
that have occurred in New Zealand have been
in Auckland, ranging from flooding to extreme The city benefits from stormwater management
weather such as tornados. initiatives which are currently undertaken by the
Auckland Council. These include mandating
Given rising sea levels and predictions of a detention and retention of stormwater runoff in
temperature increase, without action, the rainfall specific areas, promotion and defined processes for
could exceed the capacity of current stormwater Water Sensitive Urban Design and a comprehensive
systems and result in surface flooding. Network Discharge Consent which leans heavily on
retaining and restoring the natural hydrology of sites. Click onto the map to expand
London
London City Dashboard
London Analysis

Area surveyed Flood risk Sponge ranking

The UK’s capital, London, is a low-lying city

crossed by the River Thames flowing through it,
London has experienced recent events of flash
flooding, and in 2021 was hit with rainfall levels
London was ranked second lowest in our ‘sponge
ranking’. The data suggests the city scored lower
Ranking 6 th
dividing the city into north and south. much higher than usually found when 47.8mm of because it has fewer green-blue areas at just 31%
rain fell in a 24-hour period - most of it in just one compared to Shanghai’s 33%.
The city is dominated by medium density urban
hour.
typologies that were assessed as having relatively The type of permeable surface also plays a part. Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces
low proportions of green-blue areas within them. It left roads flooded, people needing to be evacuated The study assessed that there is a smaller amount of
Urban parks and low rise residential are the next
largest typologies. London benefits from its urban
from their homes and train services cancelled.
Damage to businesses, infrastructure and residential
tree coverage compared to Shanghai. However, it is
interesting to note that the London sample area had
22% 31%
Green / Blue
parks being well spread across the study area and it buildings was estimated to be in millions of pounds. more trees than Auckland and Nairobi.
is these that contribute the most to the green-blue
The Thames Barrier is one of the largest movable The city only has a mid-ranking soil type similar
percentage of the city.
flood barriers in the world, protecting London from to Auckland, Singapore, Shanghai and Sydney. Soil characteristics
The rainfall profile of London is relatively constant tidal surges and has operated over 200 times since However, its soil was assessed as being slightly Moderately-high runoff potential
during the year, with the maximum rainfall level for its construction in 1982. more permeable, meaning less water runoff than
an individual hour each year in London typically
With climate change and sea level rises, it is
Mumbai and Nairobi. In conclusion, it is the <50% 20-40%
being around 7.4mm. lower quantity of green-blue area, including lower Sand Clay
predicted that the frequency of occurrence of these
proportions of tree coverage, that resulted in
flash flood events will be more common in the
London having a low sponge ranking compared to
future, through increased winter rainfall and more
the other cities, with only Sydney scoring lower
intense summer downpours, leading to a risk of
- both in terms of its green-blue area and overall
flooding and storm surges.
sponge ranking.

Click onto the map to expand

Montreal
Montreal City Dashboard
Montreal Analysis

Area surveyed Flood risk Sponge ranking

Montreal is the second most populous city in

Canada with nearly 1.8 million residents. The city
Montreal is susceptible to flooding during heavy
rainfall events in low-lying areas with high
Montreal came 4th in our ‘sponge ranking’, just
ahead of Shanghai and behind Singapore, Mumbai
Ranking 4 th
is centered on the Island of Montreal, flanked to the impermeability and aging infrastructure. Along and New York City which were joint 3rd.
south by the Saint Lawrence River and to north by its shorelines, Montreal has been particularly
As the data suggests, the study area’s prominence
the Prairies River. vulnerable to springtime flooding in recent years,
of impervious surfaces and buildings will have had Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces
with thousands of people displaced and millions of
The study area includes approximately 150km of 2
a considerable impact on its ‘sponginess’; however,
dollars in damages to homes and businesses.
the Island of Montreal, spanning from the Saint
Lawrence River in the south, including Verdun and Climate change projections in the Montreal
one fifth of the land surveyed also provided tree
coverage. Montreal scored lower than other cities
29% 36%
Green / Blue
the Southwest Borough; the Olympic Stadium in region include both more total rain and more because its study area had fewer green-blue areas at
the East; the Trans-Canada Highway in the North; frequent high-intensity events, higher average 36% compared to Auckland, Nairobi and Mumbai
and the CN Rail intermodal yard in the West. temperatures, and longer heatwaves in the summer. which have 50%, 52% and 45% respectively. Soil characteristics
Within this area is notably Mont Royal Park and the In addition, challenges posed by winter snow and
The city has a mid-ranking soil type, similar to Moderately-high runoff potential
Central Business District. The area is representative ice management in Montreal’s northern climate
Auckland, Shanghai, London and Sydney. However
of Montreal as a whole with a variety of land uses
and urban typologies, including high-, medium-,
increase vulnerability to warm winter weather
events which bring heavy rainfall on top of snow
its soil was assessed as being slightly more <50% 20-40%
impermeable, meaning less runoff, compared to Sand Clay
and low-density housing, medium- and high-density and ice. These events are proving to be particularly
the likes of Singapore. It should also be noted that
office space, major road arteries, urban parks and catastrophic and are expected to become more
cold climate impacts on flood risk are not directly
green space, industrial sectors, and more. frequent.
accounted for in terms of ‘sponginess’.

Click onto the map to expand

Mumbai
Mumbai City Dashboard
Mumbai Analysis

Area surveyed Torrential rainfall continued for a week and the However, a high proportion of the study area
floods caused a direct loss of about 5.50 billion also featured high-density development with
Mumbai is the ninth most populated city in the
world, with a population of over 20.6 million
rupees (€80 million or US$100 million). almost no green space, and consequently, the
green infrastructure is not providing stormwater
Ranking 3 rd
and one of the most densely populated. There are In late August 2017, Mumbai recorded 468mm of
management or other benefits in these areas.
distinct differences in the quantity of greenery rainfall in 12 hours and 21 people died. Transport
around the city, closely correlated to an area’s systems were unavailable through parts of the The city’s sponge ranking was achieved by several
wealth. The more sparsely populated areas which city as trains and roadways were shut. Power was factors working together. Firstly, it was hindered Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces

include tower blocks and medium rise residential shut off from various parts of the city to prevent by having the joint-least permeable soil type of the
areas have small parkland areas with trees aplenty. electrocution. other cities – meaning less water can be absorbed 30% 45%
Greenery in these areas is well integrated with and subsequently runs off onto adjacent areas. Green / Blue
In July 2021, Mumbai International Airport
housing and commercial builds. However, in high- However, the high runoff potential of the soil type
recorded 235mm of rain in 24 hours. The heavy
density, low-rise informal settlements there is very is counteracted by the city’s high percentage of
rainfall led to landslides and flooding, causing the
little to no greenery and subsequently the residents permeable surfaces, having the joint third highest Soil characteristics
death of at least 20 people.
will be unable to draw on the benefits provided by percentage of green-blue areas in the cities studied. High runoff potential
green infrastructure.
Sponge ranking The type of permeable surface also plays a part.
The study assessed that there is a greater amount of
<50% 20-40%
Mumbai was joint third in our ‘sponge ranking’, Sand Clay
Flood risk tree coverage than grass or other green across the
alongside Singapore and New York. However, city: comparable to the tree coverage of Singapore
Mumbai is likely to be hit by many more incidents as the data suggests within the study area, the and New York.
of extreme weather, and indeed endures a monsoon city benefits from a large quantity of green
season between June and September, bringing most infrastructure, particularly tree cover. This is
of the yearly rainfall quantities. driven by large areas of woodland to the north-
Floods often cause devastation. In 2005, the east but more interestingly a large quantity of trees
Maharashtra floods led to the deaths of more than interspersed around buildings that are spread across
1,000 people, caused by the 8th heaviest-ever the whole study area. This integration of green
recorded 24-hour rainfall figure of 944mm. infrastructure across the urban areas helps give the
city some resilience to storms but also urban heat
island effects.
Click onto the map to expand
Nairobi
Nairobi City Dashboard
Nairobi Analysis

Area surveyed Flood risk Sponge ranking

Kenya’s capital Nairobi is an inland city elevated

at 1,795m above sea level. The long rainy season
It has become the norm to expect flooding in
Nairobi when it rains, leading to submerged slums.
Nairobi came second in our sponge ranking, behind
Auckland and ahead of Singapore. As the data
Ranking 2 nd
runs between March and May with a shorter rainy within the study area suggests, the city benefits
With most climate models predicting heavier
season between October and December. The yearly from a large quantity of green infrastructure,
rainfall and flooding as temperatures rise in future
average rainfall is 1,061mm while temperature particularly grasslands. This is driven by parkland
years, the city faces a huge challenge ahead. Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces
ranges between 10-29 degrees Celsius. The main as well as urban backyards spread across the study
types of soils are black cotton and red soils that In April 2016, inhabitants of Nairobi were caught area.
form patches in different parts of the city. up in flash floods after a storm brought heavy
However, a high proportion of the study area
34% 52%
rainfall that lasted for nearly 3 hours. Some streets Green / Blue
Whilst the city has large areas of national and also featured high-density development with
were under a metre of water, causing trees to be
public parks within the study area, it is also almost no green space, and consequently, the
uprooted and damage to buildings and vehicles.
dominated by low rise residential and urban green infrastructure is not providing stormwater
During a previous event in May 2015, 10 people Soil characteristics
backyard typologies. Both of these contribute management or other benefits in these areas.
died after a building collapsed due to floods. High runoff potential
significantly to the area of blue-green infrastructure
The city’s sponge ranking score was influenced by
across the city. Recently Kenya saw its population being displaced
across the country due to floods. In May 2021
two key factors. Firstly, it was negatively affected <50% >40%
The other dominant typology is ‘dense low-rise by having the joint-least permeable soil type in the Sand Clay
floods struck Nairobi which led to the death of four
urban’ which was assessed as having no green-blue snapshot – meaning less water can be absorbed
people and considerable material damages in parts
areas within it. Subsequently the residents will be and subsequently runs off onto adjacent areas.
of the capital.
negatively impacted as a result, unable to draw on However, the high runoff potential of the soil type
the benefits provided by green infrastructure. is counteracted by the city’s high percentage of
permeable surfaces. It has the highest percentage
Nairobi was the only city of those studied not to
of blue-green areas in all the cities studied, the next
have a major water body within. The Nairobi Dam
highest being Auckland.
was empty at the time the study was undertaken.

Click onto the map to expand

New York City
New York City City Dashboard
New York City Analysis

Area surveyed Sponge ranking

The type of permeable surface also plays a part.
New York City (NYC) is a densely populated
urban area home to 8.4 million people. The low-
NYC came joint third in our ‘sponge ranking’
though in fact, London and Shanghai came
The study assessed that, of the green surfaces
in New York, there is a greater amount of tree
Ranking 3 rd
lying coastal city is bound by the Hudson River ahead of it in terms of percentage of hard surface coverage than grass or other green across the city.
and the East River. The 150 square kilometre area land. Compared to other cities surveyed, such Comparable to similar quantity of tree coverage in
of NYC surveyed included Manhattan – taking in as Auckland, the amount of green and blue Singapore. This is important for the calculations as
major landmarks such as Central Park, but also the infrastructure across the study area is less evenly Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces
trees have a more significant on intercepting rainfall
suburban expanses in the Bronx to the north and a spread. In the Bronx, to the north, there are more
small section of Queens to the east. It included a parks and larger green areas, with a significantly
than grass, for example.
30% 39%
mix of dense urban high-rise areas through to urban higher number of trees interspersed around Green / Blue
parks, with medium density urban areas making up buildings. But to the south of Manhattan island,
the greatest proportion. with the exception of Central Park, there is much
less vegetation with the streets much more heavily Soil characteristics

Flood risk urbanized. Moderately-low runoff potential

NYC is facing an increasing threat of flash floods The city’s score was achieved in part by its
permeable soil type – meaning more water can be
40-70% <10%
and events which will see far greater levels of Sand Clay
rainfall hit within a short space of time. It has absorbed and not run straight off it. However soil
been predicted that the city will face an increased type alone is not enough; these need to be accessed
average level of rainfall from 4 to 11% and rising through permeable surfaces and New York has a
sea levels of 280mm to 530mm by the 2050s. The good percentage, roughly mid-table compared to
number of most intense hurricanes across the North the other cities.
Atlantic Basin is also expected to increase, testing
the resilience of the city. In 2021 Tropical Storm
Elsa left New York facing double the amount of
precipitation expected for the month of July in just
a few days, which lead to pluvial flooding across
the city.
Click onto the map to expand
Shanghai
Shanghai City Dashboard
Shanghai Analysis

Area surveyed Flood risk Sponge ranking

Shanghai is the third most populated city in the

world, with a population of over 24.2 million. The
Shanghai is particularly susceptible to extreme
weather; as recently as September 2021, schools
Shanghai came fifth in our ‘sponge ranking’, just
behind Mumbai. However, as the data suggests
Ranking 5 th
city is dominated by the Huangpu River, which has and businesses all over the city were closed as a within the study area, the city scored lower because
multiple tributaries, and divides the city into two strong typhoon approached. it has fewer green-blue areas at just 33% compared
halves. to Mumbai which has 45%.
The Chinese government implemented defences Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces
The study area includes the Wennan and Dianbei along the river to protect its major metropolitan The city only has a mid-ranking soil type of
districts (west of Huangpu river) and part of the
Pudong district (east of Huangpu river). From a
areas during the 20th century, as it is estimated that
major deforestation work removed many of the
the cities in the snapshot, similar to Auckland,
Singapore, London and Sydney. Its soil was
28% 33%
Green / Blue
green infrastructure perspective, there are green natural flood barriers and absorbing materials. assessed as being slightly more permeable, meaning
areas throughout the city, but the city gets its largest less water runs off than Mumbai and Nairobi.
From a climate change perspective, the densely
proportions of green-blue infrastructure from urban However, it is the lower quantity of blue-green
populated areas of Shanghai are greatly at risk and Soil characteristics
parks which were assessed as being more prevalent area that resulted in Shanghai scoring lower than
it is estimated that a 3 degrees Celsius increase in Moderately-high runoff potential
to the east of the study area. To the west, the study Mumbai.
sea temperatures would lead to a displacement of
area features a larger proportion of urban typologies
with fewer green-blue areas. High rise and medium
14 million people. <50% 20-40%
Sand Clay
density residential typologies dominate the city’s In addition, Shanghai’s expansive reclamation of
make up, although both do feature reasonable land could cause areas to sink given the soft nature
proportions of permeable surfaces. Our assessment of the land they are built upon.
indicates that the current green infrastructure within It is estimated that a 1 in 100-year flood event could
the city is unlikely to be well integrated to help have devastating impacts on Shanghai, which was
manage stormwater. calculated in 2012 to be one of the most vulnerable
major cities to flooding.
The scale of the damage is exacerbated when
considering the cities global economic significance
as the China’s financial capital and one of the
busiest shipping ports in the world. Click onto the map to expand
Singapore
Singapore City Dashboard
Singapore Analysis

Area surveyed Flood risk Sponge ranking

Singapore is a large city of approximately 5.5m

people. The city benefits from a high quantity
With a tropical rainforest climate, the coastal low-
lying city has an average monthly rainfall of over
Singapore ranked joint third in the study, alongside
Mumbai and New York.
Ranking 3 rd
and quality of green areas which are integrated 176mm. Higher rainfall occurs from November to
The data suggests that within the study area,
throughout the urban areas and also contains January, with the driest month being February.
the city benefits from a large quantity of green
many large parklands and open green areas. The
The contrast between the wet months and dry infrastructure, particularly tree cover. This is driven Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces
majority of residents with houses have the benefit
months in Singapore is predicted to become more by areas of woodland to the north as well as many
of a private garden. Higher density settlements and
high-rise buildings are located close to green spaces
pronounced, with both intensity and frequency of
heavy rainfall events expected as the world gets
of the roads or highways incorporating green
infrastructure.
30% 45%
and trees are in abundance. Green / Blue
warmer.
The study assessed that there is a greater amount
Over the past 50 years, Singapore invested heavily
Flash floods occurred on 14 days in 2017, up from of tree coverage than grass or other green across
in its drainage system and developed blue-green
10 in 2016 and six in 2015. Singapore has also the city, comparable to the tree coverage of Soil characteristics
infrastructure across the city to minimise flooding.
experienced several major floods in recent years Mumbai and New York. This is important for Moderately-high runoff potential
that have resulted in destruction to assets and the calculations as trees have a larger effect on
property. intercepting rainfall than grass or other permeable <60% 20-50%
surfaces. Sand Clay

The city has a mid-ranking soil type, similar

to Auckland, Shanghai, London and Sydney.
However, its soil was assessed as being slightly
more permeable, meaning less water runs-off, when
compared to Mumbai and Nairobi.

Click onto the map to expand

Sydney
Sydney City Dashboard
Sydney Analysis

Area surveyed Warragamba Dam reached as close to 70% capacity Sponge ranking
after the deluge, a week earlier the dam was only
Sydney is a coastal city with an annual average
rainfall of 1,147mm which has been historically
at 42% after one of the driest years on record and
this event put 10 million Australians under a severe
With about 76% of the surface area of the city
assessed as being impervious or covered by
Ranking 7 th
relatively uniform throughout the year, although flood warning, with floods forecast to affect most buildings, it had the highest percentage of hard
recently the rainfall has been more summer states excluding Western Australia. At least 18,000 surface land of the cities analysed. This is the main
dominant. people were evacuated from New South Wales. reason that the city scores lowest in the rankings.
Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces
Developed around its harbour, Sydney has high In March 2021, the city was again hit by a 1 Many of the natural creeks and river throughout the
amenity benefits and biodiversity coming from
blue infrastructure, and it does have some parkland
in 50-year event as days of heavy downpours city have been concrete lined to form more formal
stormwater channels.
18% 24%
caused fluvial flooding and required military Green / Blue
space particularly to the east. However, further assistance for search and rescue. This rainfall The soil type is assessed as very similar to
inland to the west, the study area features a large event caused Warragamba Dam to spill, the first Auckland’s in terms of permeability but the larger
proportion of high rise and medium density significant overflow of the reservoir since 1990 quantity of blue-green infrastructure in Auckland Soil characteristics
residential typologies with lower quantities of and widespread flooding along the east coast of is what has resulted in the difference in two cities’ Moderately-high runoff potential
permeable surfaces. The study assessed that the Australia. rankings in this study. An increase in the city’s
current green infrastructure within the city is
unlikely to be well integrated to help manage Scientists fear localised flooding could occur almost percentage of blue-green areas would help to >60% 10-30%
every week by 2050 due to human-caused sea level increase its score in the rankings. Sand Clay
storm water.
rises, according to Bureau of Meteorology.
Flood risk
Wet weather overflow from sewage mains into
In February 2020, the Sydney metropolitan stormwater mains is also a frequent occurrence
experienced its heaviest rain in 30 years, over three leading to pollution of the city’s beaches and
days. The city recorded around 391.6 mm of rain harbours and the majority of the city’s stormwater
within those three days, which is more than three network is only designed to accommodate a 1 in
times the average rainfall for February. 2-year storm event.

Click onto the map to expand

Toronto
Toronto City Dashboard
Toronto Analysis

Area surveyed Flood risk Sponge ranking

Toronto is home to over 2.9 million residents,

placing the city as the largest in Canada and the
Toronto is a growing city in the midst of a
densification and development boom. The city is
Toronto came joint 3rd in our “sponge ranking,”
just ahead of Montreal and tied with New York
Ranking 3 rd
fourth most populated in North America. The undergoing a period of intense transit expansion City, Singapore, and Mumbai. Over one quarter
city is bounded by Lake Ontario to the south and and currently leads North America in the number (29%) of the land analyzed in Toronto is covered
the downtown area is bordered by two major of construction cranes in operation. However, most in trees. Noticeably, much of the study area’s trees
watercourses, the Don and Humber Rivers, to the of the city’s modern development would not have were in the Don Valley and its connected ravine Sponge Percentage Permeable Surfaces

east and west, respectively. been possible without nearly a century of work network, to the east, somewhat removed from
The study area includes approximately 150km 2 from 1850 onwards to bury and culvert most of the buildings or the city’s most densely populated 30% 39%
city’s natural watercourses, now known as “lost areas. Toronto’s ravines are naturally spongy green Green / Blue
of the city including the high-density downtown spaces which provide co-benefits such as improving
rivers.” These underground features are a reminder
core, a mix of medium- and low-density air quality, protecting biodiversity, and enhancing
that water is meant to flow naturally into the
housing, and major urban parks. Notable areas wellbeing.
ground, feeding rivers and streams that once used to Soil characteristics
and neighbourhoods include the Union Station
be visible. Flooding is common today near many of However, much of the upstream catchment Moderately-high runoff potential
Rail Corridor and Gardiner Expressway, High
these lost rivers, as well as in areas near the city’s area in the Don and Humber River watersheds
Park, the Lake Ontario Waterfront, Port Lands
Redevelopment Area, and sections of the City’s
floodplains, and meanwhile Toronto’s rainfall is is impervious, particularly along the right-of-
<50% 20-40%
becoming increasingly intense. There have been Sand Clay
ravine system including the Lower Don Valley way. Sponginess offered by green infrastructure
over six 100-year events in the past 20 years, and it could provide a much-needed layer of retention
and Humber River Valley. The downtown core and
is predicted that with climate change these extreme to Toronto’s water management strategy that,
associated districts are dominated by areas of high
weather events will become more frequent, leading to this day, has relied heavily on conventional
to medium density urban typologies, both having
to a greater risk of flooding, infrastructure damage, grey infrastructure such as tanks and sewage
relatively low proportions of green-blue areas.
and impacting community wellbeing. interceptor tunnels. Nature-based solutions not only
Other areas, like Midtown, comprise of a larger
variety of land uses, including low-density housing, provide flood relief, but also socio-economic and
major road arteries, parks and green spaces, environmental benefits including greater respite
cemeteries, and industrial sectors. from urban heat events, community education and
recreation, increased property value, and restoration
of urban wildlife.
Click onto the map to expand
Digital technology as an enabler of nature-based solutions

Nature-based solutions have previously been seen Shanghai – urban drainage masterplanning This analysis, alongside a review of the previous
as more difficult to implement and prohibitively Terrain tool drainage masterplan and a study of relevant cases
expensive. But advanced digital tools have been a An example of this in practice is our work in across the globe, gave us the insight to devise a
game changer. Arup’s Terrain tool is being used around Shanghai. The Shanghai metropolis covers 640 targeted water management approach. Instead
the world to help planners and authorities square kilometres and has a population of 15 of focusing solely on drainage, we proposed a
In our recent report with the World Economic understand how land is being used, as well million - a number that has tripled since 1990. As visionary ‘blue, green and grey’ approach to support
Forum, BiodiverCities by 2030: Transforming as to conduct global surveys such as the its impermeable concrete spaces have grown and an integrated water cycle within the city. Based on
Cities’ Relationship with Nature, we highlighted Global Sponge Cities Snapshot, which green spaces decreased, stormwater runoff across the Arup-developed ‘design with water’ framework,
that nature-based solutions are on average 50% assesses the natural ability of major global the city has increased. On top of this, the existing our urban flooding model found opportunities to
more cost-effective than man-made alternatives and cities to absorb water and mitigate urban drainage system was already challenged in both old use blue infrastructure. This was the first-ever
deliver 28% more added value. flooding problems based on their green and newly developed areas. model to integrate the river and drainage network
Digital tools are transforming our ability to assess and blue spaces. in Shanghai. An additional enabling factor for this
Shanghai’s risk of city flooding and river
cities’ preparedness for future climate risks and Terrain harnesses the power of data analytics, pollution was an urgent issue: the city needed masterplan was improved governance across the
identify opportunities for improvement. Thanks machine learning and automation to digest advanced yet implementable strategies. Arup water system. Find out more.
to the power of AI and machine-learning, we can large quantities of data and satellite imagery. won an international competition – organised
now quantify the case for nature-based solutions; It recognises patterns, producing detailed by the Shanghai Water Authority – to provide a
better understand a city’s natural ability and how to land use maps and accurately calculating a stormwater masterplan for the city. We used remote
enhance it. region’s percentage coverage of different sensing tools to scan Greater Shanghai and used
Projects around the world from Shanghai, China categories of land type – such as grass, our Terrain machine learning tool to interpret
to Mansfield, UK - are showing what is possible trees, hard paved impervious land, the images and categorise the entire area into 12
and now is the time to accelerate their adoption on buildings, and water. categories of flooding protection required.
global scale. This automates the traditionally time-
consuming task of deciphering a city’s
typology: Terrain is x5 quicker than a manual
approach, able to analyse 20,000m² of land
data per second. The technology is also
highly accurate and can even distinguish
between a tree nursery and a forest.
Will Cavendish
Global Digital Services Leader
Digital technology as an enabler of nature-based solutions

Mansfield – showing the wider benefits Tirana Orbital Forest – securing Looking forward
of nature-based solutions access to funding
As cities increasingly face extreme flood events due
Our project in Mansfield, UK, shows how Terrain In Tirana, Terrain was used to secure access to to the impact of climate change, we need to look to
can help quantify the benefits of nature-based vital funding for a proposal by its Mayor. The nature-based solutions to help cities become more
solutions. Arup undertook a rapid assessment of Tirana Orbital Forest is a proposed ring around the resilient. But for many, the adoption of nature-
the potential of different land uses in Mansfield to urban perimeter of the city with a mix of forests, based planning will require a significant transition
accommodate nature-based solutions and mitigate shrubland, agricultural land and recreational areas – - and leaders may struggle to prioritise.
surface water flood risk. We then carried out a cost- a large-scale, nature-based solution that is intended
Now, digital mapping can facilitate more informed,
benefit analysis of the different potential scenarios, to put a brake on urban sprawl, reconnect the
faster decision-making around nature-based urban
which included the assessment and valuation of citizens with nature, clean the air and address urban
solutions. We hope that these tools will help city
wider benefits associated with the implementation heat effects.
leaders better understand the complexity of city
of nature-based solutions.
Arup is supporting this vision by using Terrain to ecosystems, provide clarity on what is possible, and
We calculated that an additional £6 million assess the environmental and economic benefits of convince them of the powerfully positive impact of
investment to establish a green stormwater different forest options and scenarios the city could nature-based infrastructure.
management solution would result in wider benefits adopt. We are working with the European Bank
of more than £22 million. On top of improved for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to
resilience to floods, the benefits hit a variety of develop a financial and technical feasibility study
stakeholders: health benefits for citizens due to for the Orbital Forest, taking into account the
changes in the living environment; increased local, wide-ranging indirect economic benefits – from
government and business revenues because of health improvements for residents, to a new leisure
stimulated local economic activity and upskilling in business ecosystem. The project is a first of its kind
green economy jobs; and improved human health for the Bank – and will seek to demonstrate that
and happiness thanks to improved amenities. holistic, nature-based solutions can be as effective
as grey infrastructure to address environmental
Based on our analysis, the Office of Water Shanghai Urban Drainage Masterplanning
challenges and deliver net economic benefits worth Shanghai Metropolis covers 640 square kilometres. We used
Services in England and Wales allocated £75.7
investing in. Find out more. remote sensing tools to scan the area then used our Terrain AI
million to Severn Trent to build sustainable
land use analysis tool to interpret the images and categorise the
green infrastructure and resilient communities in entire area into 12 categories of flooding protection required.
Mansfield.
Future recommendations

Bringing nature-based solutions to life Each environment is unique, and designs – Governance: a critical over-arching system 3. Adaptive: interventions aligned with an
include features best suited to the site, from for strategy development and implementation adaptive management approach that provides
Nature already has the answers. We just need to green spaces, rainwater gardens and permeable involving no-build solutions such as enforcing flexibility to address future uncertainty
listen. Nature-based solutions can be affordable paving to rainwater harvesting and retention sponge city planning guidance and design and new insight, avoiding inefficiency and
and scalable; they have a powerful role to play in ponds. Combining traditional grey infrastructure standards, regulation, incentivisation, unnecessary spending and delivering better
decarbonising the built environment. approaches with these nature-based solutions can information sharing and collaboration outcomes over time. This could include phased
Working in tune with natural systems is critical to provide infrastructure solutions that transform a – Green infrastructure: maximise above-ground
strategies that looks at small interventions
responding to climate change positively. Nature- neighhourhood’s capacity to flood resilience, while interventions to increase storage, improve
that can be delivered quickly alongside
based solutions is a term used to describe a diverse simultaneously integrating more green space to the water quality and reduce flooding at or near to
planning large infrastructure investments.
range of techniques that increase our resilience to urban fabric. source, primarily using nature-based solutions. 4. SMART: Strategies should be based on robust
climate impacts - such as overheating, flooding, Strategies to improve the sponginess of cities These include parkland, meadows, recreation data science and smart integrated models which
and more frequent and intense storms to the should be based on four core principles: areas, street trees, green roofs and walls, optimise the existing infrastructure, allow
overuse of natural resources - whilst simultaneously and sustainable urban drainage systems sophisticated future planning scenarios and
supporting the regeneration of ecosystems. 1. Integrated: working at basin-scale, taking into
support monitoring programmes the performance
consideration existing plans and strategies across – Blue infrastructure: the network of hydraulically
An evolving set of methods, nature-based solutions of solutions based on local conditions.
multiple different city departments, including controlled urban rivers and canals including
represent an essential step forward beyond city strategies and flooding, water-management, associated flood defences, pumping stations
‘hard’ approaches traditionally deployed by built infrastructure and development plans. and tidal controls. This also includes ponds and
environment practitioners. lakes. Modelling these in an integrated way
2. Systems-led: interventions must be implemented
In this report we have focused on harnessing nature can maximise storage and minimise flooding.
across the interconnected systems that make
to improve flood risk management. Increasing up a city’s water environment. Strategies – Grey infrastructure: underground drainage
concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases should be optimised across four systems: infrastructure and pumps, storage and treatment.
means that global climate systems have been By focusing on governance and blue and
seriously disrupted. In many locations this means green infrastructure, the need for residual grey
more extreme rainfall and more frequent flooding. infrastructure can be significantly reduced
Climate scientists have confirmed that flooding will
continue to intensify over coming decades. Relying
solely on physically constructed barriers to protect
us from flooding is no longer the best approach.