Flexible adaptation planning process for urban adaptation in Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

Resilience towards climate and socio-economic changes can be increased by means of flexible adaptation. In contemporary adaptation planning, building resilience is considered together with objectives such as sustainability, productivity and transformations. An adaptation planning process (termed water-sensitive city adaptation planning process (WSCapp)) may be used to incorporate flexibility or incremental flexible adaptation measures in a comprehensive adaptation strategy, such as when planning water-sensitive cities. This paper applies WSCapp in the context of adapting to urban flooding in Melbourne, Australia, which aspires to become a water-sensitive city. Application of WSCapp – through nine steps of analysis – has helped identify appropriate adaptation measures and economic adaptation pathways. In the case of Melbourne, of the three adaptation measures considered, the combination of rainwater tanks at the household level and the flood-proofing of households was found to be the most effective. WSCapp is fundamental for future work with urban planning and infrastructure consultants and can greatly benefit them with obtaining a more flexible and sustainable flood management response.