Chen et al. (2026) Resilience assessment of an integrated green-grey-blue-control system for urban flood risk mitigation under changing climate and urbanization

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-04-20
• Authors: Xiaolan Chen, Jun Liu, Haijun Yu, Yikai Chai
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135536

Research Groups

• College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, China
• China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, China
• School of Infrastructure Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, China

Short Summary

The study proposes an Integrated Green-Grey-Blue-Control (IGGBC) system that combines structural and non-structural measures to enhance urban flood resilience, finding that this integrated approach significantly outperforms single-type mitigation strategies in reducing inundation and economic loss.

Objective

• To develop and assess the resilience of an Integrated Green-Grey-Blue-Control (IGGBC) system for urban flood risk mitigation and to optimize its layout by balancing cost, land occupation, and flood mitigation performance.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Urban catchment level.
• Temporal Scale: Analysis based on rainfall return periods (5-year, 50-year, and 100-year events).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Coupled 1D sewer conveyance and 2D surface runoff hydrodynamic models; multi-objective optimization.
• Data sources: Urban flood simulation data and extreme rainfall event scenarios.

Main Results

• Synergistic Improvement: The IGGBC system increased the flood inundation reduction rate by 35.3% to 48.1% compared to conventional single-type measures.
• Drainage Capacity: The system enhanced the urban drainage capacity from a standard below a 5-year return period to a 50-year return period.
• Economic Impact: Under a 100-year extreme rainfall event, the IGGBC system achieved an 88.7% reduction in economic losses.

Contributions

• The research introduces a multi-layered synergy framework (IGGBC) that integrates non-structural control measures with green, grey, and blue infrastructure, providing a scientific foundation for designing adaptive flood mitigation strategies against the compounded effects of climate change and rapid urbanization.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Chen2026Resilience,
  author = {Chen, Xiaolan and Liu, Jun and Yu, Haijun and Chai, Yikai},
  title = {Resilience assessment of an integrated green-grey-blue-control system for urban flood risk mitigation under changing climate and urbanization},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135536},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135536}
}