Arup Global Sponge Cities Snapshot

How “spongy” is my city? Why does it matter? Our global sponge cities snapshot is aimed at getting people talking. How can we move beyond concrete solutions to help cities cope with increasingly heavy rainfall and other impacts of climate change?

Our cities aren’t just concrete jungles. Every blade of grass, every tree, pond, lake and lump of soil together form vital infrastructure.

As cities face increasing threats from climate change – including heavy rainfall and extreme heat events – they need to fully understand this natural infrastructure and how to enhance it.

That’s why, using our Artificial Intelligence and land use analysis tool, Terrain, we have developed the Global Sponge Cities Snapshot looking at the urban centres of seven global cities: Auckland, London, Mumbai, Nairobi, New York, Shanghai and Singapore.