Large-scale Infrastructure Development Research Articles

Greening the BRI countries through economic and political reforms.

Preserving the environment and promoting sustainable development are essential objectives for a state aimed at improving the standard of living for present and future generations. The depletion of natural resources and environmental degradation are serious concerns for policymakers worldwide. However, to fulfill its role effectively, a state must have strong institutional capacity. Studies have shown that inadequate governance and weak institutional quality are associated with environmental degradation, lower economic growth, unfavorable development outcomes, and increased inequality. Economic and political reforms are necessary to overcome these issues, while the concept of institutional reforms to save the environment is novel and hardly discussed in the earlier literature, especially in the context of BRI countries. So, this study explores the impact of economic and political reforms on the environment by applying a difference-in-differences approach to the data of 45 BRI economies from 2000 to 2022. The empirical findings reveal a negative relationship between economic and political reforms on ecological footprints, emphasizing the need for institutional reform to preserve the environment in the BRI region. Institutional reforms have a significant contribution to environmental sustainability by fostering better governance, political stability, and an environment conducive to reforms-driven decision-making. These reforms can help address the environmental challenges associated with large-scale infrastructure and economic development projects like the BRI, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable future.

The entrepreneurial university and development of large-scale research infrastructure: exploring the emerging university function of collaboration and leadership

AbstractThis paper aimed to explore the emerging university function of collaboration and leadership in developing large-scale research infrastructure (LRI). A qualitative approach, drawing from both primary and secondary data, was employed to delve deeper into the roles and aspects of the entrepreneurial university pertinent to LRI development. The study highlighted the need for the entrepreneurial university to establish a strategic direction for collaboration and leadership in LRIs. A conceptual model was crafted that delineated the central role of the entrepreneurial university, segmenting the findings into three research elements: (1) research and education (2) collaboration, and (3) utilization and impact. Actor perspectives from both academia and industry were included. The findings emphasized that entrepreneurial universities had to engage more robustly with external actors to foster practical research applications. Universities were found to require a more synergistic role. The model proposed that entrepreneurial universities should classify actors not only by their viewpoint but also by their potential role in LRI. Key actors were identified as belonging to LRI and multi-academic environments, with some being directly involved, while others were indirectly or peripherally engaged. Directly involved actors, including numerous academic and industrial users, had a clear understanding of LRI utility and engagement, whereas indirectly involved ones were curious yet unsure about LRI interaction.

Six principles to guide large-scale carbon capture and storage development

Despite considerable effort, there are few large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects operating commercially in the world today. The importance of CCS to the world's long-term decarbonization goals, however, has never been greater. The long-term outlooks of the United Nations and individual governments all place considerable reliance on the broad adoption of CCS technology for both power-generation and industrial applications. Recent support includes the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S., the U.K.'s Energy Security Bill, and the investments targeted in China's 14th Five-Year Plan. Nevertheless, a “reduction gap” remains between these contributions and governments' goals. We describe six general principles to guide the development of large-scale commercial CCS infrastructure to bridge the reduction gap by capitalizing on these opportunities. We assert that these principles are necessary to help CCS move into widespread large-scale use, and touch on steps that researchers, governments, regulators, and developers can take to encourage the adoption of this important technology. These principles include adopting a portfolio approach to development, encouraging the development of a clean-energy commons, recognizing the value of information and mitigating uncertainty, acknowledging the absence of firm legislative guidance, affirming the roles of multiple stakeholders, and ensuring that basic research can maintain a concurrent track with commercial development.

Implications of large-scale infrastructure development for biodiversity in Indonesian Borneo

Indonesia is embarking on an ambitious relocation of its capital city to Kalimantan, Borneo, bringing with it major urban and road infrastructure. Yet, despite being one of the world's most biologically diverse regions, the potential implications of this development for wildlife have yet to be fully assessed. We explored the potential impacts of the capital relocation, and road expansion and upgrades to critical habitat for medium-large mammals (>1 kg) using camera trap data from 11 forested landscapes. We applied Bayesian multi-species occupancy models to predict community and species-level responses to anthropogenic and environmental factors. We extrapolated spatial patterns of occupancy and species diversity across the forests of Kalimantan and identified “critical habitats” as the top 20th percentile of occupancy and species richness values. We subsequently overlapped these critical habitat layers with infrastructure impact zones to estimate the area that could potentially be affected by direct or secondary impacts. At both the community and species-level, distance to primary roads had the strongest negative influence on habitat-use. Occupancy was also influenced by forest quality and multidimensional poverty conditions in adjacent villages, demonstrating the sensitivity of biodiversity to socio-ecological pressures. Less than 1 % of the critical habitat for the threatened mammal community lay within the direct impact zone (30 km radius) of the capital relocation. However, approximately 16 % was located within 200 km and could potentially be affected by uncontrolled secondary impacts such as urban sprawl and associated regional development. The often-overlooked secondary implications of upgrading existing roads could also intersect a large amount of critical habitat for lowland species. Mitigating far-reaching secondary impacts of infrastructure development should be fully incorporated into environmental impact assessments. This will provide Indonesia with an opportunity to set an example of sustainable infrastructure development in the tropics.

Climate, Energy – and Environment? Reconciliation of EU Environmental Law with the Implementation Realities of EU Climate Law

Abstract Recognizing that significantly increased renewable-energy share (res) is a central component of both EU climate and environmental law, the focus of this paper is the point of intersection between these legal frameworks. Renewable-energy infrastructure projects are necessary for climate-mitigation purposes, but they give rise to significant local environmental impacts that have a negative effect on local communities and environmental conditions. The objective of environmental protection, ‘to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment’, does not fully align with the objectives of climate mitigation, which are designed to safeguard the needs of future generations and the long-term environment. While EU environmental policy encompasses ‘measures designed to combat climate change’, little attention has been afforded in relevant Directives to the impact of climate-mitigation measures on the environment. There is no provision for proportionate treatment of the impacts of these measures in environmental governance procedures. Analysis of the provisions of the eia and Habitats Directives, which directly impact the authorization of renewable-energy projects, reveals that climate as a component of EU environmental policy is dealt with via the limitation and control of greenhouse gas emissions, an incomplete approach that fails to provide for the development of new large-scale infrastructure that can mitigate the generation of greenhouse gas emissions through provision of sustainable energy sources. The European Union’s revised Trans European Network – Energy (ten-E) Regulation (June 2022) provides that energy infrastructure in the form of projects of common interest shall be deemed to be in the overriding public interest in the context of the Habitats Directive, an exception to that Directive’s prohibition on development that could negatively impact protected Natura 2000 features. A proposal pursuant to the EU Commission’s plan ‘REPowerEU’ recommends an amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive to introduce a similar overriding provision in respect of all renewable-energy infrastructure projects. These sidestepping provisions in climate-energy laws, made necessary by the failure of EU environmental law to incorporate effective provisions that promote climate change measures, are an incomplete solution that will limit the regulation of an environmentally responsible approach to increased res and are likely to be challenged.

Towards relational geometries of public participation and hydropower governance in the Lower Mekong River Basin

The Lao People's Democratic Republic's aspirations to become the ‘battery’ of Southeast Asia has involved plans for a cascade of hydropower dams on the mainstream of the transboundary Mekong River. This has triggered the unprecedented undertaking of public stakeholder consultations under the Mekong River Commission's Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA). This paper focuses on PNPCA stakeholder consultations organized in Thailand and Cambodia, and seeks to understand how these stakeholder consultations, despite their merits in information sharing, have come to be criticized by civil society as a ‘rubber stamp’ for ‘participation’ in Lao hydropower development. Building upon the literature on public participation in development, critical hydropolitics, and stakeholder engagement in Mekong water governance, we seek to conceptualize a critical politics of public participation by adopting a relational approach towards identifying the key challenges relating to participation. We suggest that a relational approach must consider how the interrelations between the multiple formal and informal tracks of stakeholder engagement shape one another and overall opportunities for participation, and how power relations within these spaces impact on perceptions towards public participation. Distrust towards state-organized participatory spaces can be traced from the state-organized participatory spaces to another key interrelation: the power relations between state and nonstate actors in the multi-scalar political spaces that extend beyond participatory spaces. This paper examines how anti-participatory forces pose a challenge to the emergence of both state and nonstate participatory spaces, providing additional insights into the state-society dynamics that influence environmental outcomes around large-scale infrastructural development.

Entering the Dragon’s Den: Contemporary Risks and Opportunities of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Africa

This article attempts to identify the opportunities and risks associated with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Africa. Given the global scope and depth of the BRI, it is of considerable importance to understand how this initiative applies to developing economies in the African context. The article provides a brief historical context of the BRI, followed by a short theoretical framework, specifically in the scholarly field of International Relations. The article then expounds on the opportunities the BRI could create for Africa, such as improving infrastructure, assisting in African industrialisation and economic advancement, as well as introducing beneficial diplomatic initiatives. The article also examines the strategic risks associated with the BRI, such as unsustainable debt concerns, concerns regarding the effect of an increasing trade deficit on domestic markets, as well as risks pertaining to large-scale infrastructure development.

The Effect of Transport Infrastructure on Land-use Change: The Case of Toll Road and High-Speed Railway Development in West Java

The development of the Cipularang Toll Road and the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (HSR) in West Java Province in Indonesia is expected to boost economic growth and provide equitable development, especially from Jakarta to the regencies and cities in West Java. Such large-scale infrastructure developments cause massive changes in land use in the surrounding areas. These impacts are often not anticipated in spatial planning. This study aimed to identify the effect of transport infrastructure development on land-use change in West Java by using cellular automata. It was found that transport infrastructure development has significant impact on the structure and spatial patterns that lead to the formation of a mega-urban region connecting the Jakarta Metropolitan Area and the Greater Bandung Metropolitan Area.

Large-scale CO2 transport and storage infrastructure development and cost estimation in the Netherlands offshore

A plan was developed for large-scale transport and storage of CO2, inspired by the measures in The Netherlands Climate Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. The main focus was on reduction of CO2 emissions captured from large industrial sources in the Rotterdam harbour area (Rijnmond region). CO2 storage potential is available within depleted gas fields in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. Specific attention was given to the potential for re-use of existing oil and gas infrastructure and the costs and development time of the re-used or new build infrastructure for CO2 transport and storage.The study revealed that depleted gas fields in The Netherlands offshore provide ample storage capacity to accommodate a supply of 10 million tonnes (Mt) CO2 per year by 2030 and for a subsequent period of 40 years. An average total unit technical costs for compression, transport and storage was calculated at €8.6 per tonne CO2. Concurrent operation of four to five reservoirs will be needed if the required 5 Mt annual injection rate in the base case scenario is to be met and eight to nine reservoirs need to be in operation simultaneously with a target rate of 10 Mt per year. In the accelerated case of injection of 10 Mt per year individual reservoirs will be brought on-stream much earlier than in the base case scenario. This can be up to several decades earlier for the reservoirs deployed in the final phase of CO2 storage activities.

Performance of DBM mixtures with unmodified and modified binder with RAP

In the recent years, due to increased traffic, pavements are exposed to higher traffic loading and are oppressed to environmental changes. It is necessary to improve the properties of bituminous mixes to sustain the stresses as well as reflecting it as cost-effective. In this connection, modified binders play a vital role in enhancing the properties of asphalt mixtures. As the days pass on, the availability of natural construction materials are depleting at a rapid rate owing to the fact of large scale infrastructural development. With this stand point, it is essential to prevent the natural resources without compromising with the performance of the structure. The only alternative in this regard is use of recycled materials in construction. Thus, in this study, one such recycled waste namely recycled asphaltic pavement (RAP) was considered for the preparation of dense bituminous macadam (DBM). For evaluating the performance of DBM mixes prepared with unmodified and modified binder i.e., VG 30 and CRMB 55 were considered as binders. The processed RAP was varied from 0 to 50% with an interval of 25%. For the performance evaluation, Marshall test and indirect tensile strength (ITS) tests were considered. Marshall specimens were prepared and tested to analyze the volumetric properties of mixes. The bituminous mixes exhibited higher stability in case of modified binders in comparison with the unmodified ones. The indirect tensile strength is found to improve by a factor of 1.11 and 1.69 under unconditioned and conditioned states respectively when the conventional material is replaced by 25% RAP. Also, the moisture sensitivity of the mixture is reduced. Thus, use of RAP offers durable, long lasting and economical pavements.

Participatory Mapping for Strengthening Environmental Governance on Socio-Ecological Impacts of Infrastructure in the Amazon: Lessons to Improve Tools and Strategies

The Amazon region has been viewed as a source of economic growth based on extractive industry and large-scale infrastructure development endeavors, such as roads, dams, oil and gas pipelines and mining. International and national policies advocating for the development of the Amazon often conflict with the environmental sector tasked with conserving its unique ecosystems and peoples through a sustainable development agenda. New practices of environmental governance can help mitigate adverse socio-economic and ecological effects. For example, forming a “community of practice and learning” (CoP-L) is an approach for improving governance via collaboration and knowledge exchange. The Governance and Infrastructure in the Amazon (GIA) project, in which this study is embedded, has proposed that fostering a CoP-L on tools and strategies to improve infrastructure governance can serve as a mechanism to promote learning and action on factors related to governance effectiveness. A particular tool used by the GIA project for generating and sharing knowledge has been participatory mapping (Pmap). This study analyzes Pmap exercises conducted through workshops in four different Amazonian regions. The goal of Pmap was to capture different perspectives from stakeholders based on their experiences and interests to visualize and reflect on (1) areas of value, (2) areas of concern and (3) recommended actions related to reducing impacts of infrastructure development and improvement of governance processes. We used a mixed-methods approach to explore textual analysis, regional multi-iteration discussion with stakeholders, participatory mapping and integration with ancillary geospatial datasets. We believe that by sharing local-knowledge-driven data and strengthening multi-actor dialogue and collaboration, this novel approach can improve day to day practices of CoP-L members and, therefore, the transparency of infrastructure planning and good governance.

Perspectives on enclosures in pastoralist drylands: From contradictory evidence to the formulation of innovative land management strategies

Drylands in Sub-Saharan Africa are subject to rapid and enduring population increase, agricultural expansion, land large-scale infrastructure developments, as well as climate change, affecting some 265 million pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. These changes are promoting a transition from traditional pastoralist ways of life characterized by seasonal mobility, towards more sedentary livelihoods based on more intensive and commercial uses of land-based resources. As part of of this ongoing transition, establishment of enclosures on pastoralist commons is emerging as a default, but highly contested, development pathway. Based on a review of the current enclosure debate across the natural, economic, and social sciences, with a geographical focus on the East African drylands, we discuss the potential and limitations of enclosures as land management tool, and propose a conceptual framework for how enclosures can act as an integral part of sustainable pastoralist land use. Such a framework constitute an important piece of the puzzle for more productively linking the urgent need of innovative ways of managing pastoralist rangelands, to the present international and national commitments to restoration of degraded lands.

Synthesizing social and environmental sensing to monitor the impact of large-scale infrastructure development

The booming development of large-scale infrastructure projects (LSIPs) facilitated by China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has drawn global concern regarding the scale, pace, and potential impact. Studies have largely focused on the geopolitical impact (i.e., politics and international relations) but less is known about social and environmental impact. This is in large part because consistent, high-resolution, cross-boundary social and environmental data at large scales are rather limited. To address the knowledge gap, this research developed a novel Socio-Environmental Sensing (SES) approach by synthesizing remote sensing imagery and geotagged Twitter data to map the socio-environmental impact of LSIPs. We demonstrated the applicability of this approach using two BRI flagship projects, namely, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan. Our analysis shows that both projects have led to a substantial loss of natural land (e.g., 3.7 % loss of vegetation in Kenya, and 23.3 % reduction of the glacier in Pakistan) but gains in artificial land (e.g., 4.2 % increase in cropland in Kenya, and 34.6 % expansion of built-up land in Pakistan). In addition, the BRI-LSIPs have largely improved local economic development, because nighttime light imagery revealed that regions near the BRI-LSIP sites became much brighter than other regions. Regarding the social aspect, we found that public sentiment toward the projects was largely positive and improved over time, which contradicts the prevalent pessimism to BRI-LSIPs by critics. Nevertheless, sentiment also presented strong spatial heterogeneity – regions around the BRI transportation hubs (usually large cities) most showed more positive sentiment than other regions. By spatially joining the georeferenced sentiment scores with environmental indicators from remote sensing, we further found that positive sentiment improved more in more developed regions, but only changed slightly in other regions. This study provides a novel approach to assess the socio-environmental impact of large-scale projects, and the findings would be useful for informing the implementation of future BRI projects across the globe.

Pragmatic state rescaling: The dynamics and diversity of state space in Indonesian megaproject planning and governance

In the past decade, Indonesia has become one of the Asian countries that massively promote large-scale infrastructure development to stimulate economic growth and improve the nation's competitiveness. Using the theoretical perspective of state rescaling, we explore how megaproject complexity defines the scope and process of state involvement in Indonesia's regional infrastructure planning, development, and governance. Aided by a typology of state rescaling, we compare two megaproject case studies: the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Train (JBHST) and the Kertajati International Airport and Aerocity (KIAA). It reveals that the dynamics of political culture, governance style, and policy domain shed light on the pragmatic rediscovering of state activism to manage risk and uncertainty in Indonesia’s multi-actor and multi-scale megaproject decision-making environment.

Water sharing policies conditioned on hydrologic variability to inform reservoir operations

Abstract. Water resources infrastructure is critical for energy and food security; however, the development of large-scale infrastructure, such as hydropower dams, may significantly alter downstream flows, potentially leading to water resources management conflicts and disputes. Mutually agreed upon water sharing policies for the operation of existing or new reservoirs is one of the most effective strategies for mitigating conflict, yet this is a complex task involving the estimation of available water, identification of users and demands, procedures for water sharing, etc. A water sharing policy framework that incorporates reservoir operating rules optimization based on conflicting uses and natural hydrologic variability, specifically tailored to drought conditions, is proposed. First, the trade-off between downstream and upstream water availability utilizing multi-objective optimization of reservoir operating rules is established. Next, reservoir operation with the candidate (optimal) rules is simulated, followed by their performance evaluations, and the rule selections for balancing water uses. Subsequently, a relationship between the reservoir operations simulated from the selected rules and drought-specific conditions is built to derive water sharing policies. Finally, the reservoir operating rules are re-optimized to evaluate the effectiveness of the drought-specific water sharing policies. With a case study of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile river, it is demonstrated that the derived water sharing policy can balance GERD power generation and downstream releases, especially in dry conditions, effectively sharing the hydrologic risk in inflow variability among riparian countries. The proposed framework offers a robust approach to inform water sharing policies for sustainable management of water resources.

Monitoring the rapid changes in mangrove vegetation of coastal urban environment using polynomial trend analysis of temporal satellite data

Over the last few decades, anthropogenic activities have triggered the rate of change in the function of mangrove ecosystems in coastal urban areas. Satellite imagery provides valuable information for mangrove mapping and monitoring. Metrics derived from the linear regression analysis of spectral indices (SIs) derived from satellites are commonly used for change analysis. This study examines the robustness of the widely used SIs derived from Landsat satellite image to distinguish mangroves and non-mangrove features and identify the non-linear changes over mangrove forest using the polynomial trend analysis. Airborne Visible and Infra-Red Imaging Spectrometer Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) data was resampled to simulate the spectral-response of the Landsat sensor. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and mutual information (MI) were applied to the simulated data to identify the optimal SIs. Based on the statistical analysis, modular mangrove recognition index (MMRI), modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) were identified to delineate the mangrove, inundated and built-up region. Finally, time-series profiles of the identified spectral indices were generated using Landsat-8 (L8) and Landsat-7 (L7) data to analyse the change dynamics of the mangrove vegetation from 2002 to 2019. The proposed methodology was applied to study the changes in mangroves in the coastal areas of Kochi (Ernakulam District, Kerala State, India). The temporal-non-linear changes in the mangrove area were identified based on polynomial regression that revealed abrupt decline (42% decrease) in the mangrove area due to large-scale infrastructure development projects. The proposed approach is easy to implement, which enables the frequent monitoring of extensive mangrove forests.

‘Drawing in’ other worlds: Addressing fragile heritage landscapes through cosmopolitical maps

ABSTRACT This paper builds on the argument that large-scale infrastructural development in remote communities poses a threat to their local heritage landscape. This is done not only through physical intervention in landscapes (through bridges, roads, pipelines or ports) but also through imaginaries projected about development that tends to re-label local landscapes as hotspots for development. This paper explores drawing as a medium to explore fragile-heritage landscapes through the stories, folklores and experiences of local communities within their landscape. It proposes a mapping strategy that attempts to grasp the diminishing heritage landscapes of Gwadar, a coastal town in Pakistan which is being re-claimed as the hub of prosperity (port) connecting two infrastructural mammoths: the BRI land routes and maritime silk roads. Together with the community, their stories and memories, we ‘draw-in’ tangible, immaterial, invisible, human, spiritual and more-than-human entities, and their worlds that are at risk of erasure in the current wave of infrastructural development.

Forest-linked livelihoods in a globalized world.

Forests have re-taken centre stage in global conversations about sustainability, climate and biodiversity. Here, we use a horizon scanning approach to identify five large-scale trends that are likely to have substantial medium- and long-term effects on forests and forest livelihoods: forest megadisturbances; changing rural demographics; the rise of the middle-class in low- and middle-income countries; increased availability, access and use of digital technologies; and large-scale infrastructure development. These trends represent human and environmental processes that are exceptionally large in geographical extent and magnitude, and difficult to reverse. They are creating new agricultural and urban frontiers, changing existing rural landscapes and practices, opening spaces for novel conservation priorities and facilitating an unprecedented development of monitoring and evaluation platforms that can be used by local communities, civil society organizations, governments and international donors. Understanding these larger-scale dynamics is key to support not only the critical role of forests in meeting livelihood aspirations locally, but also a range of other sustainability challenges more globally. We argue that a better understanding of these trends and the identification of levers for change requires that the research community not only continue to build on case studies that have dominated research efforts so far, but place a greater emphasis on causality and causal mechanisms, and generate a deeper understanding of how local, national and international geographical scales interact.

Evolution of Clustering Quantified by a Stochastic Method—Case Studies on Natural and Human Social Structures

Clustering structures appearing from small to large scales are ubiquitous in the physical world. Interestingly, clustering structures are omnipresent in human history too, ranging from the mere organization of life in societies (e.g., urbanization) to the development of large-scale infrastructure and policies for meeting organizational needs. Indeed, in its struggle for survival and progress, mankind has perpetually sought the benefits of unions. At the same time, it is acknowledged that as the scale of the projects grows, the cost of the delivered products is reduced while their quantities are maximized. Thus, large-scale infrastructures and policies are considered advantageous and are constantly being pursued at even great scales. This work develops a general method to quantify the temporal evolution of clustering, using a stochastic computational tool called 2D-C, which is applicable for the study of both natural and human social spatial structures. As case studies, the evolution of the structure of the universe, of ecosystems and of human clustering structures such as urbanization, are investigated using novel sources of spatial information. Results suggest the clear existence both of periods of clustering and declustering in the natural world and in the human social structures; yet clustering is the general trend. In view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, societal challenges arising from large-scale clustering structures are discussed.

Strategic design and finance of rainwater harvesting to cost-effectively meet large-scale urban water infrastructure needs

Many cities are confronted with both water scarcity and urban flooding as centralized water infrastructures becoming increasingly inadequate in a changing climate. Decentralized infrastructures like rainwater harvesting (RWH) can ease both issues. Yet, most studies find RWH offers limited infrastructure capacity at high cost. Previous assessments, however, fail to consider two critical advantages: multi-functionality and high adaptability. By improving the incorporation of these advantages in our analysis of 1.06 million buildings with distinct design and water demand characteristics and 20-year hourly precipitation records in New York City (NYC), we demonstrate, contrary to existing studies, that strategically designed, financed and implemented rooftop RWH systems in all or a subset of the buildings can meet large-scale infrastructure development needs for water supply and stormwater management. RWH implementation featuring public-private partnerships (PPP) in 43–96% of the buildings can serve 17–29% of the city’s non-drinking water demands while reducing the public expenditure per unit of water supply by 13–85%. The distributed citywide RWH implementations prevent 35–56% of rooftop runoff from entering the sewage system, rivers, and/or waterways per month, with observed rooftop runoff reductions as high as 90% for a single rain event.