It is a well-known fact that in China water resources are scarce as the population is growing but nothing is being done about the rapidly declining water resources. Not even rapid economic development can stop such an abuse of those water resources. In fact, turning forest-covered areas into Urban cities have proven to be harmful to the environment time and time again. Due to the removal of nature-occupied area, the natural water cycles break, which means that the rain and stormwater don’t get absorbed by the ground properly anymore and instead gets flooded in the area. This means that China is facing both water shortage and flooding simultaneously. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) of the People’s Republic of China surveyed 2010 urban flooding in 351 cities. The results showed that 214 cities had flooding occurred to a different extent. Most of these are caused by severe storms and cause massive damage to property and lives. Then there is pollution, which worsens the other water resources available. This tells how much Urban sprawl can cause a huge disbalance in nature. This is why it is essential to look for ways where China can avoid more floods or other water crises in the future and simultaneously play a role in saving the environment.
In the year of 2014, the Republic of China introduced the concept of Sponge City to tackle issues like Urban surface water flooding and preserve water resources. Sponge city is envisioned in a way that enhances natural ecosystems and provides more greenery and natural beauty in urban places. This also helps in enabling nature-based solutions to improve urban habitats for birds and other organisms. The main priority of Sponge City is to keep the floods at bay so that no more damage is done to the cities and properties. This concept also helps in tackling climate change and securing a better future for the environment. It was only after years of research and demonstrations that the Sponge City concept was introduced on December 12, 2013, by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the central urbanization conference.
Initially, when the pilot Sponge Cities projects were being made, the financial investment was between 1.2 Billion and 1.8 Billion RMB over a three-year period. This was because such a project required raw materials, construction of major infrastructure, and other financial investments. With this, it’s also providing new development ideas for Urban cities. In 2015, the China Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Water Resource, and MOHURD announced the application of the pilot Sponge City Concept and for that 16 cities were selected. Each pilot city was given subsidies as they were supported by the government. At the same time, this concept also runs on Public-Private Partnership, which allows investments from private companies.
It is predicted that the Sponge City Concept will become another economic development for China in the upcoming years. Because not only does such infrastructure help in controlling floods, but it also helps in conserving water and providing greenery and beauty in the Urban Sprawl. Even though the pilot projects have proved to be useful, the SPC projects still have a long way to go, they need to be evaluated more for better development and construction. But the Chinese Government are hopeful for the project.
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