A joint capstone project between Paris, Cape Town and Mexico City

In a context of climate change, where cities are increasingly faced with devastating floods or prolonged periods of drought, rethinking the way we manage water in urban areas is becoming a necessity. This is the focus of a group project carried out this year by students on the Governing the Large Metropolis track at the Urban School: Ebou Ceesay, Maxwell Garcia, Maxwell Kilman and Sallyrose Savage.

Entitled "A City Comparison of Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Water Management: Experiences from Mexico City, Cape Town, and Paris", this project was supervised by Francesca Ferlicca, postdoctoral fellow Rachel L. Mellon, as part of the Nature in the City project, with the support of the Rachel L. Mellon Foundation.
 

Three cities, three contexts, one common challenge

The project aims to map, analyse and compare nature-based solutions (NBS) implemented in three cities facing contrasting water management challenges: Paris, Cape Town and Mexico City. These approaches, which can take the form of vegetated swales, wetlands, urban gardens or green infrastructure, are increasingly recognised for their potential to address issues of water scarcity or excess.

The students' objective was threefold: to produce solid research results, to formulate recommendations for public policy, and to equip professionals in the sector with targeted dissemination of the project's findings.

Field-based research

After a phase of documentary research and interviews with various stakeholders, the students felt it was essential to test their analyses against the reality on the ground. They travelled to Mexico City and Cape Town, visited iconic sites and exchanged views with the various stakeholders. 

"It's one thing to see photos of the projects online, but it's another to see them on the ground [...] It was a great way to gauge the effectiveness and sustainability of the projects."

This fieldwork enabled them to better understand the real sustainability of the solutions implemented, to assess their evolution since their implementation, and to gather feedback from users.

Recommendations and avenues for the future

At the end of their study, the students emphasised that nature-based solutions can be a powerful lever for environmental justice, but also, in some cases, reinforce dynamics of exclusion if they are not designed and implemented in an inclusive manner.
They therefore call for greater involvement of local communities, not only in the implementation of projects, but also in their wider dissemination. Finally, they also emphasise the need to better link technical know-how with practices in the field, by investing in training, capacity building, and reducing construction and maintenance costs.