The Evolution of River–Lake and Urban Compound Systems: A Case Study in Wuhan, China

Wei Wang,Jinan Liu,Melissa Pilgrim

doi:10.3390/su8010015

Abstract

The process of urbanization takes up a lot of wetlands, profoundly changing the natural connection of surrounding river–lake systems, all the while causing serious damage to the environment of connected catchments. Urban systems and river–lake systems are not isolated and static, there is a relation between them which is constantly changing. Based on the idea of system research, the urban system is simplified into four subsystems: environment, infrastructure, social, and economic. These four components interact together, influencing the river–lake system to form a compound system. This paper aims to reflect the features and evolution laws of the compound system, by building a Collaborative Development Model to study the changing of the compound system in Wuhan, China over a 10-year period. The results show that by implementing the Donghu Lake Ecological River Network Engineering Project, the damaged river–lake system in Wuhan showed some improvement. However, in order to improve the sustainability of the compound system in Wuhan, the status of the river–lake system, social system and environment system, which are still comparatively substandard, should be constantly improved. The Collaborative Development Model could also be used in other cities and regions, to provide the basis for sustainable development.

Highlights

River–lake systems and their connections both affect and change the rise of human civilization, the progress of society, and economic development [1]
With the expansion of cities comes the increase in population, placing greater pressure on water resources. It is often difficult for the structure of a natural river–lake system to meet the requirements of sustainable development, in terms of flood control safety [6], economic safety [7], security of the water supply [8], and ecological security [9]
Among the processes involved in running an urban system, there is a close connection between the four environment, infrastructure, social and economic subsystems, and the river–lake system

Summary

Introduction

River–lake systems and their connections both affect and change the rise of human civilization, the progress of society, and economic development [1]. The establishment of a new hydraulic connection between rivers, lakes and wetlands optimizes the drainage pattern of river networks, becoming an important way to solve these problems [10]. The implementation of these projects has a profound impact on, and is bound to, the evolution of the river–lake and urban systems [11]

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion