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Water-Sensitive and Sustainable Urban Development
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Water-Sensitive and Sustainable Urban Development

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2024) | Viewed by 5384

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Shunwen Bai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
Interests: low-carbon urban water system transition; life cycle assessment; resilience thinking; environmental emerging technology; environmental management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015) includes 17 goals. Goals 6 and 14 address water availability and quality. Rapid urbanization, combined with a growing demand for water resources, poses significant challenges to sustainable urban development. Water stress is a growing problem, according to the European Environment Agency and other relevant organizations around the world. Water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) is a holistic approach that integrates water management with urban planning, with the goal of improving water security and ecosystem health, and promoting sustainable development in cities.

Cities can mitigate the effects of climate change, reduce water pollution, and create resilient and livable environments by implementing water-sensitive strategies.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to investigate the concept of water-sensitive and sustainable urban development, with a focus on innovative practices, policies, and technologies that promote integrated water management in urban areas. Stormwater management, green infrastructure, water-efficient buildings, urban water reuse, community engagement, and governance water frameworks will all be covered in this issue. This issue aims to advance knowledge and provide insights into achieving water-sensitive and sustainable urban development around the world by showcasing successful case studies and cutting-edge research.

Dr. Shunwen Bai
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water-sensitive urban design
  • sustainable development
  • urban planning
  • water management
  • climate change adaptation
  • stormwater management
  • green infrastructure
  • water-efficient buildings
  • urban water reuse
  • community engagement
  • governance frameworks

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 5562 KiB  
Article
On the Necessity for Improving Water Efficiency in Commercial Buildings: A Green Design Approach in Hot Humid Climates
by A. Chandana Hemantha J. Thebuwena, S. M. Samindi M. K. Samarakoon and R. M. Chandima Ratnayake
Water 2024, 16(17), 2396; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16172396 - 26 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1561
Abstract
Water, a fundamental and indispensable resource necessary for the survival of living beings, has become a pressing issue in numerous regions worldwide due to scarcity. Urban areas, where the majority of the global population resides, witness a substantial consumption of blue water, particularly [...] Read more.
Water, a fundamental and indispensable resource necessary for the survival of living beings, has become a pressing issue in numerous regions worldwide due to scarcity. Urban areas, where the majority of the global population resides, witness a substantial consumption of blue water, particularly in commercial buildings. This study investigates the potential for enhancing water efficiency within an ongoing high-rise office building construction situated in a tropical climate. The investigation utilizes the green building guidelines of leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) through a case-study-based research approach. Strategies included using efficient plumbing fixtures (such as high air–water ratio fixtures and dual-flush toilets), the selection of native plants, implementing a suitable irrigation system, introducing a rainwater harvesting system (RWHS) and improving the mechanical ventilation and air conditioning (MVAC) system. The results showed a 55% reduction in water use from efficient fixtures, a 93% reduction in landscaping water needs and a 73% overall water efficiency with a RWHS from the baseline design. Additionally, efficient cooling towers and the redirection of condensed water into the cooling tower make-up water tank improved the overall water efficiency to 38%, accounting for the water requirements of the MVAC system. The findings of this study can contribute to more sustainable and water-efficient urban development, particularly in regions facing water scarcity challenges. The significance of these findings lies in their potential to establish industry standards and inform policymakers in the building sector. They offer valuable insights for implementing effective strategies aimed at reducing blue water consumption across different building types. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water-Sensitive and Sustainable Urban Development)
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14 pages, 4131 KiB  
Article
Multi-Objective Optimization of Urban Drainage System by Integrating Rule-Based Control with Permeable Pavement
by Zhengsheng Lu, Liming Shi, Hong Zhou and Jun Liu
Water 2024, 16(15), 2200; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152200 - 2 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1028
Abstract
This study integrated rule-based control (RBC) and permeable pavements to assess the combined effectiveness in reducing the combined sewer overflow (CSO) and energy consumption of the urban drainage system (UDS). Non-dominated sorting was employed to identify the optimal RBC preset parameters under varying [...] Read more.
This study integrated rule-based control (RBC) and permeable pavements to assess the combined effectiveness in reducing the combined sewer overflow (CSO) and energy consumption of the urban drainage system (UDS). Non-dominated sorting was employed to identify the optimal RBC preset parameters under varying rainfall intensities and permeable pavement installation proportion. Cost-effectiveness was calculated for different RBC parameters and permeable pavement installation scenarios. The contribution of installing permeable pavements in each sub-catchment to the cost-effectiveness was quantified using frequency statistics. The combined effectiveness of the RBC and LID achieved maximum reduction rates of 51.12% to 72.46% in the CSO volume and 14.75% to 33.89% in energy consumption across return periods from 2-year to 20-year. The key findings were as follows: (1) Optimization of the RBC preset parameters can reduce the CSO volume and energy consumption, but the effectiveness is limited by the capacity of the UDS. (2) In the UDS, the permeable pavement installation area and return periods of design rainfall significantly impact the optimization of RBC. (3) The impact of the RBC parameters on the cost-effectiveness of installing permeable pavements in each sub-catchment is minimal. (4) The cost-effectiveness of installing permeable pavement varies across different sub-catchments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water-Sensitive and Sustainable Urban Development)
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18 pages, 9243 KiB  
Article
Research on Runoff Management of Sponge Cities under Urban Expansion
by Hongliang Sun, Shangkun Wu, Qiyu Dong, Xue Zhou, Jixian Yang and Gang Li
Water 2024, 16(15), 2103; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152103 - 25 Jul 2024
Viewed by 730
Abstract
To integrate the sponge city concept into urban development, we propose an analytical approach for runoff volume control, considering urban expansion. Using Changchun City as a case study and historical land-use data, we simulated the prediction of Changchun City’s land-use structure for 2035 [...] Read more.
To integrate the sponge city concept into urban development, we propose an analytical approach for runoff volume control, considering urban expansion. Using Changchun City as a case study and historical land-use data, we simulated the prediction of Changchun City’s land-use structure for 2035 change with the GeoSOS-FLUS platform. We calculated storage volumes for Low Impact Development (LID) designs using 2019 and 2035 land surface data. The objective is an 80% runoff volume control rate by 2035. Through Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis, we assessed the impact of various land-use types on LID storage volume calculations. Findings show that industrial land significantly influences LID storage volumes. This highlights the need for precise surveys of industrial land properties and surface composition in sponge city planning for more accurate runoff volume control analysis in Changchun City. The results indicate that LID storage volumes based on current data may not meet long-term sponge city goals due to increased impervious surfaces and runoff coefficients during urbanization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water-Sensitive and Sustainable Urban Development)
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19 pages, 3710 KiB  
Article
Absorption and Utilization of Pollutants in Water: A Novel Model for Predicting the Carrying Capacity and Sustainability of Buildings
by Enyang Mei and Kunyang Yu
Water 2023, 15(17), 3152; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15173152 - 3 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1384
Abstract
The combination of water management and urban planning can promote the sustainable development of cities, which can be achieved through buildings’ absorption and utilization of pollutants in water. Sulfate ions are one of the important pollutants in water, and concrete is an important [...] Read more.
The combination of water management and urban planning can promote the sustainable development of cities, which can be achieved through buildings’ absorption and utilization of pollutants in water. Sulfate ions are one of the important pollutants in water, and concrete is an important building material. The absorption of sulfate ions by concrete can change buildings’ bearing capacity and sustainability. Nevertheless, given the complex and heterogeneous nature of concrete and a series of chemical and physical reactions, there is currently no efficient and accurate method for predicting mechanical performance. This work presents a deep learning model for establishing the relationship between a water environment and concrete performance. The model is constructed using an experimental database consisting of 1328 records gathered from the literature. The utmost essential parameters influencing the compressive strength of concrete under a sulfate attack such as the water-to-binder ratio, the sulfate concentration and type, the admixture type and percentage, and the service age are contemplated as input factors in the modeling process. The results of using several loss functions all approach 0, and the error between the actual value and the predicted value is small. Moreover, the results also demonstrate that the method performed better for predicting the performance of concrete under water pollutant attacks compared to seven basic machine learning algorithms. The method can serve as a reference for the integration of urban building planning and water management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water-Sensitive and Sustainable Urban Development)
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