Methodological framework for quantitative assessment of urban development projects considering flood risks and city responses

ABSTRACT

This work proposes a methodological framework to hierarchize urban development projects, jointly considering flood risk aspects; urban environment restoration; and optimal urban infrastructure use. A hydrodynamic mathematical model is used to support flood mapping. Then, different dimensions of project assessment are represented by multicriteria indexes to approach socioeconomic, urban, and environmental aspects. Finally, the integrated Design Evaluation Index (DEIx) is defined, providing a general measure for supporting decision-making to hierarchize urban development projects, fulfilling the gap of a quantitative integrated measure regarding natural and urban aspects. The proposed method is applied in an exploratory case study in Vargem Grande, an urban expansion neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro/Brazil. The results showed that alternatives combining blue-green infrastructure solutions such as linear parks and retention basins composed more sustainable projects in the long-term perspective. This framework allowed to identify positive behaviors/advantages resulting from each design choice, showing its functionality.

KEYWORDS:

• Water and city interactions
• flood risks
• decision-making process
• quantitative assessment
• urban planning support tool

Acknowledgements

The authors thank UNESCO Chair for Urban Drainage in Regions of Coastal Lowlands at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Bruna Peres Battemarco, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior- Brasil (CAPES) under Grant [Finance Code 001; 88887.495814/2020-00]; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – Brasil (CNPq) under Grant [303862/2020-3]; Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) under Grant [E-26/201.404/2021].