Abstract
In China, the notion of a water sensitive city has gained popularity in urban water management as a result of the detrimental effects of flooding and pollution caused by developmental activities. Urban systems and their interrelationships are critical for long-term urban water management and water sensitivity. This article is a case study considering how a strength, weakness, opportunities, and threat (SWOT) analysis-based approach to urban water management interventions in Guangzhou and Kunming cities (China) enables decision makers to identify solutions for cities to become more water-sensitive and resilient. The similar difficulties and rewards with respect to the contexts of both cities were synthesized using SWOT analysis. The contextual SWOT analysis, in conjunction with the comprehensive inclusion of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in intervention planning in these cities, revealed that a water-sensitive-cities approach requires the establishment of a comprehensively multi-objective rainwater management system; this approach would have the goals of reducing rainwater draining sources, controlling processes and adaptive measures, and governing the system to make it more resilient. The water strategy should be holistic and adaptive, capable of providing a broad range of ecological services and other social benefits consistent with the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals, and adaptable to other Chinese cities seeking to achieve water sensitivity.
Highlights
China is accelerating its efforts to develop sustainable urban water management systems
Due to a lack of connectivity between facilities, several cities’ eco-logical rainwater collection systems have devolved into unclean water ditches, resulting in water pollution that has a severe impact on the economy, environment, health, and China’s process of sustainable development [2]
In Kunming, for example, the city must transform more than 80% of its built-up area into a Sponge City by 2030 in order to meet international standards
Summary
China is accelerating its efforts to develop sustainable urban water management systems. Several pilot cities in China, have continued to face significant waterlogging over the years [1]. From a sustainable development standpoint, the most significant difficulty confronting the Chinese urban water management is implementing the strictest ecological environment protection policy possible. China is the world’s second largest economy, its home water-use efficiency, industrial water-use efficiency, and effective use of farmland irrigation water are all lower than those of advanced economies [3]. Another issue is that the overuse of local water supplies exceeds their renewable capacity [4]
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