North Sea Skills Integration and New Technologies

Speaking a multi disciplinary language to integrate the worlds of spatial planning and water management. Encouraging the implementation of innovative technical and sustainable solutions which have already proved to be successful.

SKINT on the International Water Week Amsterdam

SKINT was present on Cities in Transition of the International Water Week in Amsterdam.

The open space sessions resulted in lively discussions.
A. Flood control concepts and design
B. Governance challenges and opportunities
C. Water Sensitive Urban Design
D. Dealing with stormwater (urban drainage) and other opportunities for a sustainable urban water cycle

The lively presentations of augmented reality, the serious game ‘WaterTown’ from the University of Abertay Dundee presented by Floris Boogaard and the ‘flood-table’ by Jeroen Kluck (GIS-based visualization of flow path analysis). All this pointed out the importance of appropriate and convenient communication and planning tools to raise the awareness of flood risks in urban surroundings. The presented analysis of socio-economic costs for transition towards a more resilient urban water infrastructure (Jörg Fermelden), the impact of urban forms on applicable decentralization of infrastructure (Marc Spiller) and the analysis of potentials for harvesting domestic urban water in the Netherlands (Claudia Agudelo) highlighted the benefits and possibilities of more resilient Water Cities. The urgent need for these transition processes was remarked ostensive in the field of potable water abstraction (Andreas Giesen).


Interactive communication tools is one goal of SKINT and augmented reality was presented during the field trip in the polder Watergraafsmeer lead by Floris Boogaard.

Short overview Water Cities in Transition day 1, 31 October 2011
After opening by the vice Governor of the province of Noord-Holland and the COO of Waternet, the morning programme of the Watercities in Transition conference started with great key note speakers who work on water resilience in cities all over the world. They addressed the challenges and solutions from different perspectives: consultancy (ARUP), watercompany (Hamburg Wasser), landscape design (London 2012), local governments (ICLEI) and science (University of Innsbrück/Melbourne).

Mark Fletcher (ARUP) noted that resilience is about recovery (e.g. rebuilding after an event) and adaptation/transformation (e.g. building defences). There is a difference between shock change (regional disasters, droughts, earth quakes etc) and incremental change (climate change, global water availability). He urged that the urban system must be seen as an integrated dynamic system and that resilience is about coping with extreme events and regular changes. Cities must also be seen as interactive systems in which resilience is about behavior of the citizens. In Ho Chi Minh City for example, ambitions are formulated for a integrated dyke project, improvement of urban drainage and infiltration, rainwater harvesting and retention. Climate change is an important driver. Community engagement is crucial in the implementation of plans, aiming at climate resilient neighborhoods.
In his reflection Chris Zevenbergen (Unesco-IHE) pointed that implementation of plans and coping with uncertainty are the key questions. For that, a catchment perspective is needed instead of local perspective for resilient solutions. And not only use techniques, but create what naturally happens, create a learning environment, create a network and use it for knowledge exchange. Simple local solutions are needed so people understand why measures need to be and are taken.

Christian Günner (Hamburg Wasser) explained the current transition in Hamburg in dealing with stormwater: a paradigm change from getting rid of water  to living with water. Problems in Hamburg are amongst others flooding from stormwater. This brings two challenges: surface sealing and increase of population (sewage disposal, stormwater management). Another challenge is the collaboration of stakeholders and developing solutions together.  In their RISA project (Rain Infrastructure Adaptation) is successful in developing new tools like infiltration capacity maps, with potential open space to store water and to search unconventional solutions. This has to result in binding guidelines for stormwater management empowered by all stakeholders involved. 
John Jacobs (city of Rotterdam) emphasized in his reflection the big challenges of how to operate in already developed (private) space, financing, how to come from pilot scale to mainstream, and governance (how to collaborate with different parties). In Hamburg investors are involved. Also Hamburg Wasser tries to get the ‘Bauw Director’(urban/landscape planner) talk like themselves and let him speak with the investors.

Phil Askew (London Olympic 2012) showed the enormous transition in the East London area that started in 2007 which will be the base for the Olympic Games 2012. The strategy to work parallel on two masterplans, one for the games in 2012 but at the same time on a long term transformation plan to an attractive residential area after 2014, has great results. The big event brought budgets, good stakeholder cooperation and a strict time frame for implementation. The result will be an amazing showcase of best practices for water resilient cities. In this process the definition of the park along the river in the centre of the development changed: the buildings are now integrated in the park, not separated. The plan is to bring waterways back to life and use them as green engineering. The Biodiversity Action Plan is one of the big drivers: create new habitats and new wetlands. The area is designed for 1:100 years flood events.

Eric van der Kooij (city of Amsterdam) asked about lessons that the rest of London can learn from the process. Important is the money available and to use it as a vehicle to demonstrate good practices, also reuse materials. It is about thinking about the future and how to accommodate that in green infrastructure/green services. Another question was about key drivers. There is a clear set of drivers: thinking of the future, security, sustainability, biodiversity. And some people with good principles on the good position. The games are a vehicle to demonstrate good practices.

Barbara Anton (ICLEI) . Indicated that decisions are not always necessarily based on best technical expertise available. She concluded that water is interesting for local governments, but that the water sector has to learn to make it interesting for planners and different sectorsLocal governments are most suitable to take a leading role, if they are able to avoid too much bureaucracy, integrate it with different ambitions and arrange a closer interaction with users. 
Corné Nijburg (Water Governance Centre) showed the value of public awareness when taking measures , like in Dordrecht where partition walls were placed during shopping hours. Key words of local governace are long term vision and short term action. How to link short term activities that attract citicenswith long term ambitions outside the borders of the city? Elements of the watercycle should be combined with a broader scope. Every city should have an integrated vision , a long term plan coordinated and communicated with the inhabitants. Also measures taken for water resiliency could improve the economics in the city center: it can make the city more attractive, increase the price of an area so investors can take advantage of the measures taken, and water can increase the quality of life.

Wolfgang Rauch (University of Innsbruck) showed the results of an impressive modeling research in cooperation with partners from Melbourne.  In the Dance4Water (Dynamic Adaptation for enabling city evolution for water) they built a prototype of a digital city, in which developments in waterinfrastructure, urban population, building development are all accounted. Transition in urban water infrastructure to get a more sustainable and adaptable city of the future requires a shift of paradigm, and requires integrated planning, flexible adaptation, technical solutions but also social economic issues should be taken into account.

Christine Oude Veldhuis (NIROV) saw possibilities to use models like this for skill training of water professionals at the impact of urban dynamics in the form of serious gaming (Sim city for water engineers and for training young people). Joint efforts between spatial planning and water management is needed. The worlds are different, we speak different languages and it is still difficult to understand each other. Organizing workshops is a way to get to understand each other. The Dance4water tool could help to provide ideas to plan the water system. The idea of the model is to develop an exercise tool for water managers and planners to test their ideas.