The urban fluvial and hydro-environment system

Abstract

With the rapid urbanization of cities around the world, water security, flood control, and urban hydro-environmental management have become important tasks to tackle. The majority of large to megacities are located in delta regions surrounded by river networks, due to their historical development. They are not only threatened by floods from upstream river basins, but also endangered by the challenges of urban hydro-environmental governance. Fast urbanization causes interference and fragmentation of the river system and impedes its hydrodynamic potential, which is a primary driver of flooding, pollution, and sediment deposition. Consequently, water security and environmental problems are major issues for sustainable urban development. The purpose of this Research Topic (RT) is to examine the latest advances and developments in addressing the challenges in urban fluvial and freshwater systems as well as to discuss the opportunities they create for improvement in modelling, management practices and governance. This RT consists of twenty research articles from 99 authors under three different research themes, which feature contributions on urban space management, water pollution mitigation and urban watercourse behavioural sciences to strengthen resilience. The RT includes the following themes: • State-of-the-art numerical models, • Urban environmental and hydrological advances, and • Sustainable cities implementation.