Leveraging Leading Edge Digital Models, Developed Under Urban Computing Principles, to Support Flood Risk Assessment in Cities

The prevalence of flooding, other natural disasters, and extreme weather events are anticipated to increase due to human-induced climate change. Flooding is a worldwide phenomenon with severe human, ecological, and economic impacts. Developing processes to assess and manage the risk of these hazards is a critical global challenge. Addressing this challenge effectively could mitigate significant negative human and economic impacts, and technology has a fundamental role in addressing this challenge. However, the potential of leading-edge technologies needs to be explored in the role that they could play in supporting rigorous urban flood risk assessment processes. Although much progress has been made in applying technology in cities (albeit to differing extents), several unanswered challenges and opportunities, such as technical readiness in the public sector and data availability in the Global South, have yet to be addressed or captured. This chapter explores various established and emerging urban computing and digitalization techniques and how they are currently being combined and applied on the ground in cities worldwide. Based on this review, challenges and opportunities are identified to suggest how cutting-edge digital technologies could be better integrated with flood risk assessment strategies in the future.