---
title: Sponge cities are sopping up climate change
description: Concrete cities are installing infrastructure to soak up excess water.
---

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# [Sponge cities are sopping up climate change](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/10202022-sponge-cities)

 Written by [Sara Friedman](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/sara-friedman) | Oct 20, 2022 7:45:04 AM

When it rains, it pours. And climate change means it’s been raining [more](https://phys.org/news/2022-10-daily-precipitation-intensity-harder.html) than ever.

Global cities, [built](https://www.wired.com/story/21st-century-storms-overwhelming-20th-century-cities/) in dryer times, aren’t prepared to handle the flooding caused by increased rainfall. Where there was once grass and soil to soak up water, there’s now impenetrable cement. (Something about paving paradise to put up a parking lot.)

#### **To prepare for soggier days ahead…**

… urban planners around the [world](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-23/why-china-wants-to-build-environmentally-friendly-sponge-cities) are transforming concrete jungles into “sponge cities,” per [*Wired*](https://www.wired.com/story/if-you-dont-already-live-in-a-sponge-city-you-will-soon/). Sponge cities are structured to soak up water rather than repel it, using tools like:

- **Permeable surfaces,** such as concrete bricks separated by crushed stone
- **Rain gardens,** which can divert and collect excess rainwater
- **Vegetated swales,** AKA plant-filled ditches that soak up runoff water

#### **But water isn’t always bad**

As storms become more frequent and severe, so will [droughts](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/climate/sponge-cities-philadelphia-wuhan-malmo.html) — so the ability to collect groundwater for drinking, cooking, and cleaning will be invaluable.

In case Mother Earth didn’t have enough problems, sea levels are [rising](https://www.c40.org/what-we-do/scaling-up-climate-action/adaptation-water/the-future-we-dont-want/sea-level-rise/), making spongy infrastructure even more important for coastal cities.

**And you might absorb some of the cost:** Cities such as [Pittsburgh](https://www.pgh2o.com/your-water/stormwater/stormwater-fee/stormwater-fee-faq) and [Los Angeles](https://laist.com/news/lower-new-la-county-stormwater-tax) are already taxing residents for their property’s impermeable surfaces.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/10202022-sponge-cities)

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