Cities and Flooding: A Guide to Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management for the 21st Century

This manual provides operational guidance on how to manage the risk of floods in a transforming urban environment and changeable climate. It argues for a strategic approach, in which appropriate measures are identified, assessed, selected and integrated in a process that both involves and informs the full range of stakeholders. This integrated approach includes: the construction of drainage channels, incorporating “urban greening” such as wetlands and environmental buffers; the creation of flood warning systems; and improved land planning to counter the effects of potential flooding. The guidebook also advocates for a more cohesive information dissemination system involving web-based flood reports and accessibility to hydrological and hydro-meteorological data and for cooperation from various sectors of government, the public sector, civil society, and other organizations.