Joint UCL-STEaPP and GCRO project on Nature-Based Solutions For Urban Water Management
In late 2023, Drs Christina Culwick Fatti and Dr. Samkelisiwe Khanyile from the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO), together with Dr Carla Washbourne from the University College London Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (UCL STEaPP), received a UCL Global Engagement small grant project. The project, titled 'Re-imagining urban water management through nature-based solutions (NbS): Transdisciplinary practice for co-designing settlement scale plans', aimed to explore the use of nature-based solutions for developing a water management plan for an informal settlement using the case study of Diepsloot in Johannesburg, South Africa, which faces flooding and water management challenges.
This project builds on the GCRO's previous Green Assets and Infrastructure Project, which examined the potential of NbS in Diepsloot. The project aimed to translate the theoretical discussions in the report into practical solutions through a transdisciplinary process involving local and community stakeholders. The project included activities such as a research visit, a stakeholder engagement workshop, and interviews with various stakeholders in the first half of the year.
Dr Samkelisiwe Khanyile visited UCL STEaPP for a research visit from 17 to 21 June 2024. The research visit aimed to support the collation of findings from project activities into actionable outputs, specifically mapping and modelling flood-prone areas in Diepsloot. This mapping exercise also involved reviewing previous iterations of the GCRO’s Quality of Life Survey to gain insights into where respondents are reporting flooding as a key issue in their community, along with their socio-economic characteristics.
Dr Samkelisiwe Khanyile attending a seminar session with colleagues at UCL STEaPP, on 19 June 2024.
Following this, a stakeholder workshop was held in Diepsloot on 12 July 2024. The workshop was held at Wot-If. It was attended by the GCRO researchers involved in this project, along with colleagues from Sticky Situations, the University of the Western Cape, and local community members interested in this topic. The workshop was divided into two parts. The first part entailed an introduction to the project, a discussion of the community's flooding issues, and local projects and interventions. Maps of the study area were also available for identifying flood-prone areas based on the participants’ experiences. The second part entailed taking a walkabout around the community to one of the flood-prone areas, a river crossing that the community uses every day. The site was polluted owing to its use as a dumping site by households and builders was full of household waste (Photo 2). The project team found this workshop insightful for identifying the flooding challenges faced by the community as well as getting some insight into local interventions and where interventions would have the most impact.
Photos taken during the walkabout in Diepsloot, 12 July 2024.
Since the workshop, the project team has been conducting interviews with relevant stakeholders, such as non-governmental organisation (NGO) representatives and academics. The project team is currently using the inputs from the above-mentioned activities to write a report on NbS for water-related challenges in informal settlements.