Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026
13:48
Design and Construction of an Urban Runoff Research Facility
Published on: August 8, 2014
How decentralized blue-green-grey infrastructure reshapes urban drainage performance: A cost-reliability-resilience
Mo Wang1, Yijia Zhang1, Chuanhao Sun2
1College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
Journal of Environmental Management
|August 13, 2026
Summary
Decentralizing urban drainage systems significantly cuts costs and boosts resilience for both grey and blue-green-grey infrastructure. This approach prioritizes network design over capacity expansion for effective flood management.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Engineering
- Urban Hydrology
- Climate Change Adaptation
Background:
- High-density coastal cities face increasing compound flood risks due to non-stationary rainfall, land-use intensification, and aging infrastructure.
- Blue-green-grey infrastructure (BGGI) is advocated, but the role of network decentralization in cost, reliability, and resilience trade-offs is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically assess how varying degrees of network decentralization influence the performance of conventional grey infrastructure (GREI-only) and coupled blue-green-grey infrastructure (CBGGI) systems.
- To quantify the impact of decentralization on cost, reliability, and resilience in urban drainage.
Main Methods:
- Development of an integrated Genetic Algorithm-SWMM (GA-SWMM) optimization framework.
- Application of the framework to the Guiwan District in Shenzhen, China, under various design storm scenarios.
- Analysis of system performance across different decentralization levels (DCL = 0-90.9%).
Main Results:
- Decentralization significantly reduces total life-cycle costs (LCC) by up to 32.9% and decreases overflow volumes by up to 23.5 × 10³ m³.
- Coupled blue-green-grey infrastructure (CBGGI) systems offer additional cost savings of $18-24 million USD compared to GREI-only systems.
- Decentralized CBGGI enhances operational robustness, maintaining acceptable service levels with 15.0-25.3% link failures, and improves component-to-system resilience (Res_II) by 5-8%.
Conclusions:
- Network decentralization is a cost-efficient strategy for urban flood management, primarily achieving resilience gains through network reconfiguration.
- Decentralized blue-green-grey infrastructure coupling presents a robust pathway for next-generation urban flood management.
- Optimizing network design is crucial for balancing cost, reliability, and resilience in urban drainage systems.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Design Example: Analyzing Capacity Contours for Flood Risk Assessment
Flood risk assessment involves careful planning and analysis to ensure the safety of communities near water retention structures. Capacity contours are a vital tool in this process, as they illustrate the potential spread of water at specific levels in a given area. In the context of building a bund across a small valley, these contours play a critical role in evaluating the safety of nearby residential areas.In this example, the bund is intended to store stormwater in the valley. The engineers...
01:17Design Example: Alignment of a Road Line Using GIS
The alignment of a road line using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a critical process in civil engineering, combining advanced technology with practical decision-making. This methodology begins with the collection of geospatial data, including information on land cover, geomorphology, drainage patterns, slope, and contour details. Such data is typically acquired through satellite imagery and GIS tools, offering a comprehensive understanding of the terrain.Once the data is gathered, it...
01:30Microbial Wastewater Treatment
Microbial communities in aquatic ecosystems play a key role in the natural breakdown of contaminants introduced through domestic and industrial effluents. Acting as biological catalysts, these microbes change and mineralize a wide range of organic and inorganic pollutants under different redox conditions.In oxygen-rich surface waters, aerobic heterotrophs lead organic matter breakdown, using oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor to efficiently oxidize substrates to carbon dioxide and water.
01:29Applications of GIS: Disaster Management and Emergency Response
Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is essential for risk identification, action prioritization, and resource optimization in critical situations like flooding and earthquakes. By integrating spatial and demographic data, GIS provides a comprehensive framework for emergency response.GIS integrates data layers, like rainfall intensity, topography, elevation profiles, and river levels, to model high-risk flood zones. These layers assess areas susceptible to flooding based on their...
01:21Multiple Pipe Systems
Multipipe systems consist of complex configurations of interconnected pipes designed to transport fluids efficiently across intricate networks. They are essential in engineering applications requiring precise control over flow distribution, pressure, and head loss. They are categorized into series, parallel, loop, and network configurations, each distinguished by unique flow characteristics and applications.
Series Configuration
In a series configuration, fluid flows sequentially from one pipe...
Series Configuration
In a series configuration, fluid flows sequentially from one pipe...
01:26Design Example: Sustainability in Concrete Building
As the construction industry moves towards more eco-friendly practices, concrete's adaptability and its ability to incorporate sustainable features make it a key material in the drive towards greener building solutions.
There are multiple approaches to achieve sustainability in a commercial concrete building. For instance, construct a concrete parking area under the building, utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks in open areas to facilitate rainwater collection through an underground cistern.
There are multiple approaches to achieve sustainability in a commercial concrete building. For instance, construct a concrete parking area under the building, utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks in open areas to facilitate rainwater collection through an underground cistern.