Flooding in London three years ago caused widespread damage and disruption. One way to avoid a repeat is for the capital to become more … spongy.
Sponge cities use green spaces like parklands and blue spaces like lakes and rivers to absorb rainwater and allow it to drain away safely, thus lowering the amount of excess rainwater entering the sewerage system.
Given that flash flooding has been named a "lethal risk" to people living in London, the park-rich capital seems a natural fit for the concept. But it might not be that simple.
The concrete jungles of the 21st century are proving inadequate in the face of increased rainfall and surface flooding. This type of flooding happens when large amounts of rain fall on "hard, impervious surfaces such as concrete, overwhelming the local drainage system", said the BBC.
But some researchers have criticised the sponge city model, said Jenny Knowles in a blog on MDPI. She argued that it was "not suitable for extreme, large-scale flooding" and in denser areas there may be "insufficient space to implement sponge city features".
"As a concept sponge cities are great; the issue is with its implementation," Susanne Charlesworth, professor of urban geography at Coventry University, told the BBC.
But Alastair Chisholm, director of policy at the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, said it was "one of the most deliverable solutions we can do". He called on "all of our political leaders to really push the concept of sponge cities". | 
