Water Always Wins

historical maps show that, over time, buildings come and go. In the United States, many are replaced after fifty years. In rapid-growth places like China, that turnover may happen in just fifteen years (although the average is about thirty years). That presents enormous opportunities to redesign buildings and urban systems to scale up nature-based processes as needed and as urban remodeling allows. Disasters can also serve as a catalyst for urban change, such as when governments use emergency funds to buy victims out of a floodplain, remove buildings, and convert the area to an absorbent park. Reclaiming derelict industrial sites along rivers can also clear a lot of important space for water.