Beautiful and desirable environments can be created which support wildlife, allow eco-friendly living and help address the risk of flooding in our vulnerable risk areas.

Living with water

Historically, our settlements followed the coast and rivers, relying on proximity to water for food, irrigation, transport and leisure. Building design and day-to-day life reflected this close relationship. Our settlement and structures accommodated water, were resistant to flooding and, where necessary, were often temporary in nature to allow seasonal occupation. Only recently in human history have we sought to find solutions that permanently protect land on a large scale through fluvial engineering, claimed salt marshes and wetlands that provided softer natural barriers, and relied on concrete to ‘eliminate’ flood risk. We rely on our flood defences to protect not only people and private properties, but also vital amenities and public assets, including hospitals, the emergency services, schools, municipal buildings and the transport infrastructure.

Disruption of these by flooding inevitably has major knock-on effects for business and society. Perhaps we need to do
more to curb our compulsive, single-minded efforts to control water through elaborate structural interventions, move away from bricks and mortar-based solutions. The challenges we face now and in the coming years may drive us back towards embracing the previously dynamic relation between land, water and communities. New challenges drive innovation in design  nd building construction. A more concerted Beautiful and desirable environments can
be created which support wildlife, allow eco-friendly living and help address the risk of flooding in our vulnerable risk areas.