Table of contents for N. 130 in Topos

Oh, hi there! I’m topos, the leading international magazine for urban planning from Munich, Germany. For me, everything revolves around the sustainable city of the future. Online, I spend 365 days a year dealing with the question: how will we live sustainably, healthily and technologized in the world’s future metropolises? In addition to my home www.toposmagazine.com, I am published four times a year as a print magazine (that’s what you are holding in your hands right now!). I address everyone who is interested in the smarter, greener city of the future and who works in, on and with the city. My readers include CEOs, mayors, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, engineers, digitalization specialists, researchers – simply everyone that is interested in urban development! My great passion is finding and analyzing…

Flooding has always been an essential part of nature’s rhythm, a force that sustains and rejuvenates the land. Growing up in the small village of Dong Yu, in southeastern China, I witnessed the profound relationship between floods and the local ecosystem. Each year, the seasonal arrival of floods from the White Sand Creek transformed our rice paddies and ponds into thriving wetlands, brimming with fish and nourishing the soil. What some might have seen as chaos, we welcomed as a time of renewal and abundance. I vividly recall the day I slipped into the floodwaters, only to be saved by the branches of a willow tree, steadfast in the water’s embrace. That experience shaped my understanding of floods – not as destructive enemies, but as essential partners in nature’s cycle,…

The Oder flood of 1997 is considered one of the most severe flood events in Central Europe and caused considerable damage and losses. There are different types of floods, including river floods, storm surges and flash floods, all of which have different causes and effects. Jakarta, Indonesia, is sinking by up to 25 centimeters every year due to groundwater extraction - one of the fastest urban subsidence rates in the world. During Hurricane Isaac in 2012, the Mississippi River began to flow backwards for almost 24 hours - a rare natural phenomenon caused by the massive storm. Flash floods can move water at speeds of up to 35 kilometers per hour and rise several meters within minutes. Tokyo has a massive underground flood defence system called ‘G-Cans’. It consists of…

As the word ‘nether‘ already indicates, large portions of the country lie below sea level. Many parts of its territory are reclaimed from either lakes or parts of the North Sea. As early as the 13th century, the delta of Rhine, Maas and Schelde in the southwestern part started to dry out and islands of sand grew. Protected by a dike, they later became usable land. Around 1600, technical developments made further poldering possible. Especially windmills, still today icons of the Netherlands, helped to pump water and created habitable land. Centuries later, fuel driven pumps took over. Until today, an intricate system of pumping is needed to manage the water in Holland. Despite ongoing efforts to gain new land and protect existing areas by dikes, a horrible flood surprised the…

Accra is the capital of Ghana and, with a current population of around 2.7 million (as of 2024), the centre of the country’s largest metropolitan region. Together with the city of Tema and the surrounding area, Accra forms the Greater Accra Region, one of ten regions in Ghana. The city is one of the best cultural cities in the world according to the Travelbook Awards 2023. In Accra, the vibrant capital of Ghana, you can experience a fascinating mix of history and modernity. Cultural highlights include historical sites and impressive architecture that tell of Ghana’s rich past. There are also many culinary delights and the hustle and bustle of the colourful markets to enjoy. For the adventurous, there are exciting activities in the surrounding nature. Annual event Accra’s historical significance…

Water has always been both a giver and a taker of life. It carves landscapes, nourishes civilizations, and shapes our cities. Yet, it also reminds us – sometimes violently – of its immense power. Floods have existed for millennia, but never before has their frequency and intensity threatened so many lives, so many homes, and so many urban environments. As climate change accelerates, we are entering an era where urban flooding is no longer an exception; it is an expectation. The numbers alone are staggering. By 2050, an estimated 1.6 billion people will be at risk from flooding. Entire coastal cities, from Jakarta to New York, are grappling with the reality of rising sea levels, overwhelmed drainage systems, and extreme storms that once seemed rare but are now becoming routine.…

The Romans, who founded the city on a river island in one of the meanders of the Rio Turia in 138 BC, laid the foundations for de Vega’s praise of the city. The name “Valentia” means something like “the beautiful” or “the powerful”. From then on, what is now the third largest city in Spain played a central role as the cultural and economic center of the Mediterranean region. Valencia’s urban development reflects the changing eras of its history, characterized by cultural influences, economic upswings and downswings as well as urban transformations. In 714, the city came under Moorish rule thanks to a capitulation treaty that allowed the old inhabitants to coexist peacefully with the new arrivals. Over the next 500 years - from 711 to 1238 – Valencia experienced…

As dawn breaks, the skyline glows in shades of pink and orange, reflected in the Saigon River. Ho Chi Minh City is made for early birds, with activities starting as soon as the new day begins. Motorbikes and scooters draw colorful patterns through traditional narrow alleys and wide boulevards lined with century-old French colonial architecture. Most likely you will soon meet street vendors preparing their morning specials: bánh mì sandwiches stuffed with pickled vegetables and pâté. And with it freshly brewed cà phê sữa đá - Vietnam’s signature iced coffee sweetened with condensed milk. At the famous Ben Thanh Market with its central clock tower, you can find fresh produce, local handicrafts, souvenirs, clothing, jewelry, and a variety of foods. A short walk away, not far from the Saigon River,…

Copenhagen is known for its pioneering role in the urban transport revolution. Around 50 years ago, Jan Gehl campaigned for his home city to undergo a radical change in urban planning: away from a car-friendly city and towards a people-friendly cycling city. Today, Copenhagen is recognised as a pioneer of this successful transformation. And in the areas of climate adaptation and climate resilience, the Danish capital is once again an international role model. Since the industrial revolution, cities have been subject to constant change. From the early 20th century onwards, urban life was increasingly orientated towards the requirements of the automobile. Step by step, established open spaces had to make way for the growing transport infrastructure, as was also the case in Copenhagen. In the 1960s and 1970s in particular,…

Carlo Becker is a landscape architect (AK Berlin) and one of the founders of bgmr Landschaftsarchitekten GmbH in Berlin. becker@bgmr.de Tobias Hager is a journalist and Chief Content Officer and member of the management board at GEORG Media. Responsible for all GEORG brands such as topos magazine, BAUMEISTER and G+L, his focus is on the areas of content, digital, marketing and entrepreneurship. t.hager@georg-media.de Julia Maria Korn studied art history, archaeology, and history in Bonn. She joined the team at Georg Media at the beginning of 2024 and is primarily responsible for Restauro magazine. j.korn@georg-media.de Anna Martin studied Art History with a focus on architecture at the LMU in Munich. She started as an editorial trainee in 2022 and now works as an editor at Georg Media. She has wide-ranging interests…

Humans have always worked in symbiosis with nature, adapting to one another and reshaping the Earth we inhabit. However, our confidence as the planet’s smartest species and our collective ego have pushed the boundaries of this balance, creating a system that heavily favors human growth, development and economics. Now, nature is speaking louder, reminding us that humanity cannot thrive on this planet without living in harmony with, within and for it. We cannot afford to stand against Nature. Since the dawn of urban development, water has been perceived as an opportunity for transportation and trade, leading to the rise of maritime cities such as Rome, Paris, New York and Shanghai. To build these cities, we reshaped waterways to suit our needs. We rerouted, narrowed and straightened them. But today, with…

Floods and inundations are direct consequences of climate change. The Robert Koch Institute reported over 7,000 heat-related deaths per year in Germany in 2017 and 2018. The economic impact of heat, particularly in terms of reduced productivity, is also significant. Working comfortably – whether outdoors or in an office – is nearly impossible at 30 degrees celsius or higher. However, there are two sides to the same coin: too much water on one side, too little on the other. The real challenge is that heatwaves and droughts are becoming longer and increasingly overlapping. Urban vegetation dries out, the natural cooling effect of evaporation in cities diminishes, and drought-related damage in agriculture and forestry worsens. Drinking water will become scarcer, and competition for water resources will intensify. Solving the Rainwater Dilemma…

What specific events, challenges or scientific findings led to the initiation of FloodAdaptVN? The foundation for the FloodAdaptVN project was laid back in 2015, when I discussed our two papers with Assoc. Prof. Dr Hoang Khanh Linh Nguyen from the University of Huế at a scientific conference in Berlin. We realised that we had overlapping research interests and complementary expertise in the fields of urban planning, extreme climate events, geodata and satellite-based earth observation. An idea quickly emerged to utilise these skills to develop innovative information products for flood events, especially for the topographically and hydrologically complex region of Central Vietnam. Central Vietnam is characterised by recurring and increasingly severe flooding, dynamic urban and economic growth and limited access to comprehensive data. Social memory is still characterised by the devastating…

The monsoon of 2015 will forever be remembered in Chennai as a time of fear and loss. The rains began in November and intensified to a devastating climax in the early days of December. The cumulative rainfall in Chennai in November reached 1,049 millimetres – the highest since 1918. These immense volumes of water overwhelmed the city’s natural and man-made drainage systems. Rivers burst their banks, lakes and reservoirs overflowed and water gushed over streets, into houses and public buildings. The floods claimed more than 500 lives and caused billions of dollars in damage. More than 1.8 million people were forced from their homes. Supplies of basic goods such as food, water and medicines collapsed. Industry suffered massive losses as factories and production sites were flooded. Car manufacturers were particularly…