Tech & Science dictionary
sponge city
[ spuhnj sit-ee ]
What does sponge city mean?
A sponge city is a city that is designed to naturally absorb water.
In general, the average city is built in a way that doesn’t allow water to be absorbed. Cities often have a low number of plants, paved surfaces that move water somewhere else, and sewage systems that dump polluted water away from the city.
A sponge city is designed to absorb water, especially using natural methods. Sponge cities often have a large amount of land allotted to plants and trees that naturally absorb rain and groundwater. Additionally, sponge cities often feature lakes and reservoirs that store clean water. Sponge cities will also often avoid relying on paved surfaces and opt for absorbent soils that can naturally filter water to reduce pollution.
Sponge cities were popularized in modern China in an effort to combat a national water crisis caused by severe water shortages in some urban areas and severe flooding in others. It is thought that sponge cities can alleviate too much water by absorbing the excess and too little water by absorbing, storing, and cleaning the water that is available.
Example: Our sponge city has been able to absorb all the extra rain we’ve had lately so the streets don’t flood.
Where does sponge city come from?
The term sponge city combines the words sponge, referring to an absorbent material that can soak up liquids, and city. A sponge city is a city that acts like a sponge, soaking up water.
The concept of the sponge city is credited to Dr. Kongjian Yu, the founder of the Chinese company Turenscape, who has used the term since at least the early 2010s.
The concept of a sponge city became popular with the Chinese government in the early 2010s after the country suffered from severe flooding. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China would develop a strategy for using sponge cities to combat China’s water issues.
China committed to the sponge city strategy into the 2020s. As climate change caused urban flooding to significantly increase worldwide, cities in other countries began planning their own strategies to become sponge cities in order to counteract severe flooding.
Examples of sponge city
Who uses sponge city?
The term sponge city is used to refer to a city designed to naturally absorb water. The term is most likely to be used by people familiar with China, architectural design, or climate change.
It will be nice to see a mini sponge city developed in Lagos. Could further help in solving urban water issues in Lekki.
— Soore (@cauchy_Show) March 3, 2021
Flooding issue in Lahore, Peshawar and Karach is a serious issue now. The govt should look into Sponge city model by China. Sponge city is a city structured and designed to absorb and capture rain water and utilize it to reduce floods.
— Abdullah Cheema (@AB_cheema) July 27, 2020
China has developed sponge city
A sponge city is a city structured and designed to absorb and capture rainwater and utilize it to reduce floods. Rainwater harvested can be repurposed for irrigation and for home use. It is a form of a sustainable drainage system on an urban scale— Bioengineer memon (@Bioengineer18) August 28, 2020
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of sponge city like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of sponge city that will help our users expand their word mastery.