ABSTRACT
Planner Mick Lennon, along with faculty colleagues Mark Scott and Eoin O’Neill at University College Dublin, Ireland, explore the challenges and opportunities of adapting to increased stormwater due to climate change and urbanization. They propose that urban design strategies be integrated with stormwater planning as a response to the traditional, hard-engineered approaches of the past. In addition to the human cost of flood damage, these authors note the growing economic cost associated with catastrophic flooding. The authors call for a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing flooding that brings urban design and planning to the forefront of adaptation. The theme of nested spatial units discussed in the micro-climate planning articles is relevant in this article as well with the urban watershed as the unit of analysis that is nested in a larger watershed. The contribution of each watershed to the overall water balance is a key concept for more holistic stormwater planning.
