January 31, 2014, by Blue-Green team

Nick Mount talks drainage in São Paulo, Brazil (audio blog)

Presenting the first Blue-Green Cities audio blog!

Emily Lawson and Nick Mount (School of Geography, University of Nottingham) discuss the current drainage structure in São Paulo, Brazil, and potential for future implementation measures to reduce the flood risk and transform the character of the city while delivering multiple benefits to the region.

Go to audio blog.

Background information 

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city proper in the southern hemisphere, in the Americas, and the world’s sixth largest city by population. We can definitely call it a mega-city.

Nick was in São Paulo in November 2013, attending a workshop on groundwater and ecosystem interactions as part of a wider initiative aimed at develoing stronger research links between the University of Nottingham, the University of Birmingham and the Federal Research Funding Body of the São Paulo state in Brazil (FAPESP). The workshop gradually evolved into discussions of surface water and ecosystem interactions, the pros and cons of structural, grey engineering as a method for flood risk management, and the resultant flood risks that are associated with heavily urbanised environments with an excess of impervious (concrete) surfaces.

“Engineering solutions alone are never going to solve your water quality and flood risk problems unless you are also addressing the social and economic context as these are often a key driving force behind the water management problems. This leads to new challenges in how you create a sustainable city.” Listen for more…

Interested in Blue-Green Cities Research? Check out our website and find out what a “Blue-Green City” really is.

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