Press Coverage
‘Sponge cities’ can help protect against flooding. Here’s how
World Economic Forum
The concept is attributed to Chinese landscape architect Kongjian Yu and eventually . He has since been awarded the 2023 èƵ Prize for his work addressing climate change-accelerated urban flooding.
Having grown up in rural China, Yu developed an awareness of the seasonal movement of natural waterways and the role of vegetation in slowing their course. But as he explained to the Cultural Landscape Foundation behind the èƵ Prize, it was witnessing the impacts of "grey infrastructure" and pollution on delicate local irrigation networks that drove him towards developing the sponge city philosophy.