Water scarcity management in the context of urban climate resilience : benchmarking the case studies of Istanbul and London

Abstract

In recent years, the exacerbated effects of climate change have brought the concept of “climate resilience” to the agenda in cities and its necessity has been increasingly recognized in order to cope with the gradual effects. Cities, with their complex nature and urban forms, are highly vulnerable to climate change-related impacts, and this is where "climate resilience" constitutes a remarkable solution to overcome or adapt to these challenges.

Water is one of the critical and vital assets triggered in cities and it needs strategic management approaches in order to establish a solid infrastructure and provide uninterrupted service. In this context, climate resilience offers many opportunities, especially in places prone to water scarcity, by contributing in various ways to the city's assets, infrastructure, and utility management. This is where this research takes the stage with a benchmarking between two case studies; London in UK and Istanbul in Turkey, aiming to verify the contribution of urban climate resilience to water scarcity management and reveal its levels of contribution. This study not only provides insights into the benefits of climate resilience and the interrelation between climate resilience and water scarcity management, but also provides recommendations for the identified vulnerable case study based on the strengths observed in the best practice case study. The research conducted a comprehensive literature review on the concept of urban climate resilience, water scarcity, sustainable water management, and the current policies, strategies, and action plans of each case study to gain a broad understanding of each topic and move towards the research aim. To conduct the benchmarking study, the concept of urban resilience was contextualized in a framework with its qualities and dimensions, followed by a set of indicators and a quantitative assessment tool specifically tailored to water scarcity management based on the developed framework.

The quantitative results of the assessment demonstrated the successful contribution of the climate resilience strategy to the management of water scarcity in cities; showing that Istanbul is vulnerable in terms of water scarcity management as it lacks a city-level climate resilience strategy or policy, while London has a stronger management performance with its strategy tailored to the city's needs. In this direction, in the light of the strengths identified in London, actions were proposed for the high risks observed in Istanbul. These actions will not only improve water scarcity management in Istanbul but will also move the city towards the climate resilience. In addition, despite London is the best practice of this research, some recommendations were also presented for the moderate risks identified in London. If the tailor-made action plans developed in this research that address the risks observed in cities are implemented by the relevant authorities, it can bring case cities closer to the concept of climate resilience and sustainability.