Abstract
AbstractStrategic placement of water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) is essential in optimising its performance and maximising co-benefits. However, little is known about the current placement and interconnectedness between WSUD assets and the performance of current planning strategies. We evaluated the placement of existing WSUDs in a highly urbanised catchment in Sydney, Australia. We used a three-step process: (1) compiling a comprehensive spatial asset database, (2) performing spatial correlation analysis between asset locations and biophysical, urban form and socioeconomic variables and (3) using a novel approach to facilitate holistic understanding through analysing asset locations compared with the outcome of the spatial suitability analysis tool (SSANTO). WSUD coverage was generally low, with clustering in some municipalities. Placement was constrained by physical variables, such as slope, limited space and varying land uses. However, placement was not detectably influenced by most socioeconomic variables. SSANTO's suitability score at asset locations was only slightly higher than average, suggesting that the placement of existing WSUD was opportunistic, rather than strategically planned. Further development and implementation of tools able to account for spatial constraints will help guide future WSUD placement as a component of green urban stormwater management.
Highlights
Given that water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) is designed to counter the impacts on waterways flowing through densely populated areas, the highly urbanised area was defined to incorporate all suburbs with population densities of .500 residents per square kilometre (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016 Census), which were mainly in the north and west of the study area (Figure 1)
Maximising the benefits and optimising the performance of WSUD require strategic planning that considers a diverse range of influential variables
The compilation of an extensive asset database revealed that our study area in southern Sydney had a high proportion of smaller assets and relatively low proportions of wetlands and swales, and was relatively underserviced
Summary
Barriers to green infrastructure planning The natural water cycle is severely altered in urbanised regions dominated by impervious surfaces. Three separated and centralised systems are used to transport water across urbanised landscapes: the water supply system; the sewage system and the stormwater system (Brown et al 2009). There is growing recognition for the need for a shift to a broader framework for the holistic management of the urban water cycle, with water sensitive urban design (WSUD) as a central pillar (Coombes 2018). WSUD relieves some of the burdens on centralised infrastructure, by restoring components of the natural water cycle and using stormwater close to where it falls. The potential benefits of WSUD include: minimising effluent generation and
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