Advancing Water Resilience: Integrating Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) in Vancouver
Yunjiao Yao, MLWS 2025
Vancouver is facing increasingly complex and interrelated water challenges as the combination pressures of climate change and rapid urban development intensify. The City is vulnerable to extreme rainfall, drought, sea level rise, and water pollution, which strain infrastructure, increase flood frequency, and amplify ecological risks. Current reliance on combined sewers further contributes to untreated discharges and degraded waterways. Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) offers a holistic approach to integrate stormwater, wastewater, and water supply into urban planning, shifting from grey infrastructure toward blue-green systems. Global precedents from Portland, Rotterdam, and Copenhagen illustrate how integrating WSUD can reduce combined sewer overflows, mitigate floods, improve water quality, and create multifunctional public spaces. Vancouver’s Rain City Strategy and Healthy Waters Plan articulate strong WSUD visions but remain limited by voluntary targets, fragmented governance, and insufficient enforcement. The city lacks binding bylaws, cohesive water narratives, and funding mechanisms to mainstream WSUD at scale.
