Systemic Approaches and Principles for Urban Stormwater Management

In the frame of adaptation planning, there is a need to address climate change impacts in a systemic way that goes beyond sectoral logic. The management of stormwater in urban areas, mainly relying on sewer systems, requires exploiting every planning opportunity to compensate for both the increased intensity of heavy rainfalls and the high density of soil sealing. This chapter explores different approaches to stormwater management connected to the compensation of new development and retrofitting of the existing built environment, stretching from quantity-based approaches to ones also considering quality and stormwater reuse. Based on applied research to support planning processes in Padua, a medium-sized Italian city, the chapter then outlines indications and principles of intervention to allow a systematic mainstreaming of these approaches in the planning and design system, targeting those policymakers, technicians and practitioners that can steer the physical modification of urban space.