The Polytechnic University of Coimbra will coordinate a European project aimed at developing urban drainage solutions that increase cities' capacity to respond to climate change and extreme weather events. The project, called ResSuDSCita, has a duration of 36 months and involves partners from Portugal, Greece, Poland, Hungary and Sweden. The total investment exceeds one million euros, with requested funding of approximately 968 thousand euros. The municipal company Águas de Coimbra also participates in the initiative, being responsible for the implementation and monitoring of pilot solutions.
The UP Coimbra team is coordinated by professor Joaquim Sousa and brings together specialists in areas such as urban hydraulics, artificial intelligence, geotechnics, environment, economics, sensing and geographic information systems. The project aims to evaluate and optimise Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, green infrastructures designed to reproduce the natural functioning of the water cycle. Among the objectives are reducing the risk of urban flooding, improving water quality, increasing soil infiltration and biodiversity, and reducing the heat island effect.
One of the most innovative aspects of ResSuDSCita involves the incorporation of industrial by-products in the construction of drainage infrastructures, applying circular economy principles and seeking to reduce the consumption of raw materials. Digital models based on sensors, remote monitoring, artificial intelligence and machine learning will also be developed to monitor the performance of the implemented solutions and support sustainable urban planning. Over the three years, the partners will characterise existing solutions, install monitoring systems in different cities, collect and analyse environmental data, validate new materials and develop decision support tools.
The ultimate goal is to produce technical and policy recommendations that facilitate the adoption of these solutions by cities across Europe. Coordinator Joaquim Sousa highlighted that the project is not limited to the development of technological solutions, intending to demonstrate that it is possible to rethink the way cities are planned and built. ResSuDSCita was recently approved and is currently in the preparation phase of the work plan, organisation of teams and holding of the first coordination meetings.
