Urban Hydrology and Hydraulics: Nature-Based Solutions for Pollution and Water Management

Rapid urbanization and climate change present significant challenges for built-up areas, making advanced stormwater management essential. However, stormwater management practices alter the natural water cycle, decreasing the ability of soil to absorb rainfall and increasing surface runoff and the likelihood of flooding events. This exacerbates the degradation of surface and groundwater via the accumulation of contaminants such as heavy metals, nutrients, and microplastics, affecting ecosystems and public health. In response, urban areas are increasingly exploring innovative and sustainable approaches, with Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) providing a promising framework. By integrating ecological, hydrological, and engineering aspects, NBS offer a systemic approach to mitigate these environmental hazards.

The primary objective of this Research Topic is to explore strategies that effectively employ integrated NBS to address the dual challenges of hydraulic hazards and urban contaminants. By assessing the multiscale benefits - ranging from individual buildings to entire catchments - NBS can transform urban problems into opportunities for regeneration and enhanced quality of life. Specific goals include evaluating the capacity of NBS to reduce surface runoff and understanding their role in mitigating the impact of pollutants in urban environments.

To gather further insights into the implementation and benefits of NBS, this Research Topic welcomes submissions encompassing various scales (e.g., lab-, pilot-, and field-scales) and methodologies. We encourage research articles and reviews that focus on the application of blue-green infrastructure in stormwater management. Contributions can include experimental studies, both field and laboratory-based, as well as conceptual and mathematical models. Themes of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Assessment of NBS such as green systems (green walls/roofs), grey systems (permeable pavements), and blue systems (blue roofs) at building- and catchment-scales to manage stormwater.
• Experimental investigations of stormwater quality and quantity.
• The fate and transport of contaminants from stormwater runoff, such as heavy metals, nutrients, pathogens, emerging contaminants - including microplastics - in soils, urban stormwater, and nearby water bodies.
• Hydrological modeling approaches that assess NBS effectiveness in reducing urban runoff and pollutant loads.

This Research Topic welcomes various article types, including original research and review articles.

Topic editor Prof. Patrizia Piro is the founder and CEO of SIGMAWATER Srl. The other topic editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: nature-based solutions, pollutants, sustainable, urban, water management, emerging contaminants, urban floods, climate change adaptation, soil water nexus

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.