Rethinking Infrastructure Design - Rethinking Infrastructure Design for Multi-Use Water Services - page 2

Fig. 1 2009 - 2010 revision of world urbanisation prospects © (Source UN, Population Division of
the Department of Economic and Social Affairs)

of the world is population. Thus, growth of urban areas or creation of new ones is

inevitable. Some countries with huge populations (India for example) are yet to see
this rapid urbanisation happen. If it happens spontaneously (in an unmanaged
fashion), huge environmental problems will surface. Managing it in a sustainable
way provides a unique opportunity (Fig. 1 ).
The objectives of water management in urban areas are to ensure that no damage
is caused during the extreme participation and that long periods of droughts do not
cause problems in cities or the countryside. Our urban centres rely on water and
aquatic ecosystems for services, such as oxygen production, carbon storage and
natural

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filtering of toxins and pollutants. Besides the clean water supply for our daily
needs, we depend on water to grow our food and produce resources, and to transport
our goods and waste. By 2030, 47 % of the world

s population will be living in areas
of high water stress (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) 2008 ). Freshwater ecosystems are among the most degraded on the planet
(United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) 2009 ). Water shortages,

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flooding
and watercourse pollution are all signs of stress where developed areas have troubled
interaction with the natural water cycle and where water has become a risk rather
than an opportunity. Urban planners face a choice in their future approach to
incorporate appropriately the interactions of water resources and green/vegetated
spaces into an innovative concept of future cities. Their cities can become increas-
ingly dependent on rural support areas and enlarge their urban ' shadow ' , potentially
damaging food production, nutrient

flows and water resources; or they can shift from
being resource users to resource managers (Bahri 2012 ), altering their consumption
patterns, waste management and planning to balance resource

ows better to and
from cities. Among numerous options, the approach pursued in this tutorial section
based on an innovative concept of the Blue Green Dream project.