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| Home > Articles > Published articles > Title: From runoff to resilience : |
(Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) (Northeastern University. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica i Ambiental) (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciències de la Computació)
| Date: | 2026 |
| Abstract: | Climate change and rapid urbanization intensify stormwater-related challenges in cities, particularly in compact urban environments. Traditional grey infrastructure often fails to address these risks in a flexible and adaptive manner. Nature-based solutions (NbS) offer a multifunctional and resilient complement to traditional grey infrastructure. This study presents a Social-Ecological-Technological Systems (SETS)-framed methodology for evaluating urban risks, feasibility, and the multifunctional performance of NbS at the city scale. Using a GIS-based framework, we assess NbS feasibility across social, ecological, and technological domains, simulate stormwater retention under different scenarios, and quantify co-benefits including heat mitigation, water storage, water quality, habitat provisioning, and recreation. Applied to Barcelona, the study finds that implementing NbS (including green roofs, rain gardens, urban parks, and permeable pavements) over 160 ha in Scenario 1 (S1), aligned with the city's greening strategy, and 2498 ha in Scenario 2 (S2), which maximizes NbS feasibility, could reduce city-scale flood volume by up to 4. 6% for T1 events, increase water storage capacity by 43%, improve habitat quality by 36%, and reduce the proportion of the population underserved by urban nature by nearly 50%, compared to the current land use and land cover (S0). While the reduction in runoff volume is moderate, especially for high-intensity storm events, our findings highlight the substantial additional value of NbS through the provisioning of co-benefits and risk reduction for vulnerable urban communities. Although the assumptions and simplifications of the numerical models used in this study may influence the results, our findings underscore the importance of integrating NbS not only as technical solutions for stormwater management but also as strategic tools for enhancing urban resilience, equity, and climate adaptation, while unlocking their transformative potential to reconfigure urban systems towards more sustainable and inclusive futures. |
| Grants: | European Commission 818002 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PCI2022-133011 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-000940-M Generalitat de Catalunya 2024/FI-2_00594 Generalitat de Catalunya 2021/SGR-00734 Generalitat de Catalunya 2021/SGR-00182 "la Caixa" Foundation 100010434 |
| Note: | Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB |
| Note: | Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2024-001506-M |
| Rights: | Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.  |
| Language: | Anglès |
| Document: | Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada |
| Subject: | Ecosystem Services ; InVEST modeling ; Nature-based solutions (NbS) ; Social-Ecological-Technological Systems (SETS) ; Urban stormwater |
| Published in: | Urban forestry & urban greening, Vol. 120 (June 2026) , art. 129431, ISSN 1610-8167 |
