Ahmed Minhas, January 29, 2025
Creating Climate-resilient Cities: How Nature-based Solutions Could Solve Urban Flooding
With urban flooding on the rise due to climate change and urbanization, cities across Canada face growing challenges in protecting communities and infrastructure. Associate Professor Jennifer Drake, an expert in stormwater management, low impact development and green infrastructure, is developing innovative nature-based solutions to address this issue. In partnership with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the City of Ottawa and industry collaborators, her research is advancing sustainable stormwater management.
Drake’s research examines overland flooding, which occurs when water from freshwater sources, heavy rainfall, snowmelt or drainage failures flows over land, flooding streets and properties. Using hydrological models from the City of Ottawa, her team is analyzing nature-based solutions like rain gardens, permeable pavements and green roofs, simulating their use in local neighbourhoods to assess their potential to mitigate flooding under changing climate conditions.
“We’re exploring how nature-based solutions can be integrated into urban planning for effective flood management,” says Drake, Canada Research Chair in Stormwater and Low Impact Development. “Our goal is to offer practical guidance for cities across Canada to make informed decisions about sustainable infrastructure investments.”
Through funding from the NRC, this research aims to develop national guidelines for modelling and implementing nature-based solutions to ensure their effectiveness across regions. Collaborations with municipalities like the City of Ottawa provide critical data, while complex modelling allows the team to test scenarios that combine green infrastructure with traditional systems.
Drake is also leading the creation of the Sponge City Lab on campus, an initiative focused on advancing nature-based stormwater solutions. The lab will function as a living research facility to test technologies like green roofs and permeable pavements under real-world conditions.
Drake envisions the lab as a hub for collaboration between academia, industry and municipalities.
“The goal is to become a centre of excellence for nature-based stormwater solutions,” says Drake.
Her work with industry partners such as Ginkgo Sustainability on soil monitoring technology for green roofs, highlights her expertise and the lab’s potential to pilot and refine practical solutions. Providing a platform for evaluating emerging technologies, the lab aims to bridge the gap between innovation and application.
Drake plans for large-scale demonstrations at the lab, providing policymakers and developers with real-world examples and helping them envision how these solutions can be incorporated into future projects.
“People need to see examples,” Drake emphasizes. “These technologies need to be visible and relatable, so that decision-makers can confidently integrate them into their plans for building climate-resilient cities.”
Through research, strong partnerships and practical applications, Drake’s work is helping cities address pressing challenges. As plans for the Sponge City Lab move forward, Carleton leads the way in transforming research into impactful solutions for communities across Canada.
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