Flooding in Auckland — is there a better solution?
Sponge-city approaches such as Copenhagen's Cloudburst Plan and Rotterdam's water squares could complement Auckland's Making Space for Water programme.
Q.7.2 — Utilities
Flooding in Auckland — is there a better solution?
There are numerous successful international flood mitigation projects combining physical infrastructure and nature-based solutions that could be adapted to Auckland's context. Many emphasise "sponge city" principles — integrating green (nature-based) and grey (engineered) infrastructure to absorb, store, and redirect water:
- Copenhagen's Cloudburst Management Plan (Denmark) — over 300 projects including subterranean storage tunnels, sponge parks, bioswales, green roofs, and floodable public squares designed to withstand 100-year storms.
- Rotterdam's Water Squares and Hofbogenpark (Netherlands) — sunken public plazas that double as stormwater basins, at roughly 50% lower cost than traditional barriers.
- Can Tho's Urban Development and Resilience Project (Vietnam) — drainage networks, retention basins, and 60 real-time flood sensors protecting over 422,000 people.
- Buenos Aires' Flood Risk Management Project (Argentina) — drainage upgrades and park-based retention basins protecting over 3 million residents.
- Metro Colombo Urban Development Project (Sri Lanka) — drainage paired with wetland conservation protecting 2.5 million residents.
These could complement Auckland's Making Space for Water programme, especially in flood-prone areas like the CBD, Henderson, and the North Shore.
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Written by Mark Pervan, Director, City Builders Association Limited
Mark Pervan is the founder and director of City Builders Association Limited, an Auckland civic think tank funded solely by membership. He has run manufacturing plants, with global sourcing and supply chain management in the same role, and has been project manager on multiple commercial and residential building projects. He was also responsible for product design and development across multiple mediums, and served as sales and marketing manager. He is a company director and business owner, including as a director of Idea Foundry. He served three years as an elected member of the Puketāpapa Local Board (2022–2025) and was a council candidate for the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward of Auckland Council.
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