Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Adaptation of Urban Stormwater Management: Performance Assessment of Blue-Green Infrastructure

A Special Issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X) belonging to the section "Land Planning and Landscape Architecture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 4 February 2027 | Viewed by 898

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Engineering Technology, Technical University of Denmark, 2750 Ballerup, Denmark
Interests: nature-based solutions; climate adaptation; water management; sustainability

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Guest Editor
School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Peking University, Beijing, China
Interests: evidence-based sustainable design; ecological restoration and infrastructure; sustainability in climate changes
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Landscape planning and land use/land cover change are at the core of strategies supporting climate adaptation and resilience, with stormwater infrastructure, which is directly related to urban and territorial planning, becoming crucial in terms of mitigating the consequences of climate change. In this context, nature-based solutions (NbSs) arise as an interesting approach to climate action, with green–blue infrastructure emerging as a key support of the sustainable and green transitions of urban landscapes. However, even if NbSs are a becoming accepted as a consolidated technology, there are still challenges related to their scalability since their performance depends not only on the efficiency of isolated solutions but also on the integrated operation of different NbS approaches implemented in an urban landscape.

With these aspects firmly in mind, this Special Issue invites the submission of original research articles involving contributions that address the use of nature-based solutions as green–blue stormwater infrastructure for the climate adaptation of urban areas and the resilience of cities, through experimental, empirical, or theoretical research, addressing assessment of the performance and impact of NbSs from hydrological, environmental, economic, and/or social perspectives, including but not limited to the following topics:

  • Theoretical reflection that clarify concepts, frameworks, and pathways linking NbSs, blue–green infrastructure, and climate adaptation in urban stormwater management;
  • Assessment of NbSs for climate adaptation and resilience of cities, including experimental performance of NbSs used at the watershed level, and metrics to assess the impact of NbS integration into climate action, land use and landscape planning for stormwater management;
  • Remote sensing, IoT sensors, drone mapping, and other emerging technologies to support NbS monitoring;
  • Planning and design trategies to select, combine, and distribute multiple NbSs in urban landscapes for stormwater management.

Full experimental and/or methodical details and data documentation must be provided for the papers submitted. Contributions at the intersection of ecological engineering and land change science are especially welcome, but contributions from others that forefront NbS implementation and assessment for climate adaptation of urban landscapes are also highly welcome.

Dr. Lineker Max Goulart Coelho
Dr. Zhifang Wang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • nature-based solutions
  • urban stormwater management
  • blue–green infrastructure
  • climate adaptation
  • climate resilience
  • sustainable urban infrastructure
  • urban drainage
  • performance assessment
  • climate, land, energy, water, food (CLEWF) NEXUS

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 26323 KB  
Article
Identifying Nature-Based Solution Priority Areas for Urban Waterlogging Adaptation Under Climate Change and Urban Expansion
by Chenchen Yang, Dongxu Lin, Yuhan Duan, Chenshuo Wang, Ming Lei and Zhifang Wang
Land 2026, 15(7), 1198; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15071198 - 3 Jul 2026
Viewed by 541
Abstract
Identifying where nature-based solutions should be prioritized has become a critical task for climate-adaptive urban stormwater management under the combined pressures of climate change and urban expansion. Taking the central urban area of Beijing as a case study, this study develops a dynamic [...] Read more.
Identifying where nature-based solutions should be prioritized has become a critical task for climate-adaptive urban stormwater management under the combined pressures of climate change and urban expansion. Taking the central urban area of Beijing as a case study, this study develops a dynamic prediction framework that incorporates the Source–Flow–Sink (SFS) process of urban waterlogging. The framework integrates a future land use simulation model (FLUS), the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) hydrological model, and the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model and incorporates both climate change (RCP8.5) and urban expansion to simulate the spatial configuration of waterlogging risk in 2031. High-risk areas were then overlaid with land-cover data and open-space distribution to identify potential NbS opportunity spaces, which were further examined through field investigation. The results show that future waterlogging risk in Beijing exhibits a clear corridor-oriented pattern closely associated with transportation infrastructure. Transportation-related variables account for more than 80% of total model contribution, suggesting a strong statistical association between future waterlogging occurrence and transportation-related spatial features. Field investigation further reveals that many roadside green spaces are elevated above adjacent roads, limiting their ability to receive and retain runoff. Thus, the key adaptation challenge lies not simply in the amount of green space, but in the weak hydrological connection between runoff pathways and adjacent open spaces. While Beijing’s priority areas are mainly corridor-based, other cities may be shaped by different processes and spaces. More broadly, this study demonstrates how hydrological risk simulation can be translated into spatially explicit planning priorities and more locally grounded adaptation decisions. Full article
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