Water Sensitive Urban Design
Integrating smart water cycle management into urban planning and design
Water sensitive urban design integrates smart water cycle management into urban planning and design for sustainability and liveability outcomes in urban environments, wider regions and catchments. It is also known as ‘integrated water cycle management’, ‘whole of water cycle management’ and ‘sustainable water management’.
Projects
- Veggie raingardens
- Optimising saline biofilter performance through plant selection
- Road edge treatments for stormwater reduction and street tree health
Our research impact
We advance water sensitive urban design knowledge to help government, building owners, the construction industry and design community find the best ways of managing stormwater, groundwater, wastewater, water consumption and rainwater in built environments.
We work with colleagues, particularly the Waterway Ecosystem Research Group, to discover new solutions through innovations in rain gardens (also known as ‘bioretention systems’ or ‘biofilters’), green roofs, tree pits, grassed or landscaped swales and infiltration trenches.