Flood Resilient and Sustainable Urban Regeneration Using the Example of an Industrial Compound Conversion in Seoul, South Korea

Kyoyoung Hwang,Fabrizio Amoruso,Thorsten Schuetze

doi:10.3390/su12030918

Abstract

The objective of this study was to illustrate the urban flood resilience and sustainability improvement potential by integration of decentralized water management systems in sustainable urban regeneration projects. This paper discusses sustainable and resilient urban regeneration potentials using the example of an industrial compound (ICs) conversion in Seoul, South Korea. Urban flood vulnerability has been a concern globally due to land use changes, limited capacity of existing stormwater management infrastructures and the effects of climate change. Due to their comparably low building density, ICs can effectively contribute to the separation and decentralized retention and infiltration of stormwater. However, no sustainable and resilient conversion examples of ICs have been realized in Seoul so far. After identification of a representative IC, its exemplary sustainable conversion with implementation of decentralized water management infrastructures were designed. The rainwater collection, retention and infiltration system was dimensioned in order to create a stormwater discharge-free property. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the improvement potentials before and after the conversion unveiled that this conversion contributes also to the improvement of the neighborhoods’ sustainability, spatial quality and resilience to disasters. The research results are transferable to other urban ICs and are a good practice example for sustainable and resilient regeneration of existing urban districts.

Highlights

Flooding from storm water runoff due to extreme precipitation events has been a historical problem in Seoul, South Korea [1]
Most of the annual precipitation in Korea occurs in summer, during the rainy period between mid-June and early September [2,4]
A severe rainstorm refers to rainfall of more than 30 mm per hour or 80 mm per day, or when approximately 10% of annual precipitation is concentrated on one day [5]

Summary

Introduction

Flooding from storm water runoff due to extreme precipitation events has been a historical problem in Seoul, South Korea [1]. Most of the annual precipitation in Korea occurs in summer, during the rainy period between mid-June and early September [2,4]. In Seoul, approximately 30% of annual rainfall occurs during the rainy period [3]. Permanent seasonal rain events in Korea can last from a few days to several weeks, including extreme precipitation and severe rainstorms [2]. A severe rainstorm refers to rainfall of more than 30 mm per hour or 80 mm per day, or when approximately 10% of annual precipitation is concentrated on one day [5].

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Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion