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Nature-based Solution (NbS) for local adaptation of neighborhood to urban flooding: A case study of Enschede, Netherlands

Shrestha, Sadichchha (2021) Nature-based Solution (NbS) for local adaptation of neighborhood to urban flooding: A case study of Enschede, Netherlands.

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Abstract:The problem of floods in urban areas is increasing worldwide due to the drastic change in land cover of the urban areas by the expansion of hard surfaces. Along with climate change, there is an increase in precipitation which will cause flood more in the future years, and traditional stormwater management is not enough to tackle the problem. So, there is a need to adapt to the flood by enhancing the Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Enschede city in the Netherlands is no exception to this risk of urban flooding during heavy showers. The municipality of Enschede has a goal to limit the damage caused by floods while also maintaining the green in the city. Considering NbS measures to adapt to the flood in Enschede city can be the best way to deal with it. Hence, this study aims to review the local adaptation of urban floods by integrating NbS in a few of the neighborhoods of Enschede. The local flood adaptation is studied by analyzing the resident’s perception of the urban flood problem and areas affected by it and people’s preference of NbS by assessing the adaptive capacity of those affected areas. The study also tries to evaluate the effectiveness of local flood adaptation by integrating NbS by exploring the adaptive capacity of the neighborhood and comparing it among the focused neighborhoods. Apart from flood prevention, NbS also has many benefits. Also, the study tries to understand if people’s knowledge of the co-benefits of NbS can help make people adaptive to urban floods. For this, data were collected from the residents in the neighborhood of Lasonder-Zeggelt, Stevenfenne, and Twekkelerveld of Enschede municipality. The data collection was carried out during April 2021, when there was a tough time due to the pandemic of Covid-19 and its restrictions. Though it was tough to carry out fieldwork, it was possible because of the online map-based survey tool “maptionnaire.” Almost 150 households: 52 from Lasonder-Zeggelt, 55 from Twekkelerveld, and 54 from Stevenfenne neighborhoods responded. The questionnaire covered the thematic areas of experience of flooding, NbS at household and neighborhood scales, its benefits and disservices, and the institutions and initiatives to coordinate activities for NbS. The study revealed that the people perceived the cause of urban floods in Enschede municipality to be poor drainage, high groundwater level, and excessive rain, but it differs according to the neighborhood. Similarly, the preference of NbS also varies according to their level of exposure to the flood. Neighborhoods less affected by flood prefer NbS like Façade gardens more for other benefits like visual attractiveness rather than flood prevention. Furthermore, the study also revealed that the adaptive capacity to urban floods depends on various factors like the socio-economic background of the residents. So integrating NbS as the adaptive measure is not enough for the adaptation. Also, one of the remarkable things discovered in the study is that there are still many households without any NbS. Hence, there is much possible to improve flood prevention by scaling up the NbS in households. The municipality needs to focus on the ability and willingness of residents to adopt NbS and develop adaptation strategies according to it for effective adaptation.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:ITC: Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation
Programme:Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation MSc (75014)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/88993
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