Urban Flood Mitigation Strategies Using Geo Spatial Tools : A Practical Approach for Cities and Towns of Developing World

The disastrous effects of floods in urban areas of various Indian cities have been increasing in severity and extent over the past decade. This book explores flood disasters, their impact in world and Indian contexts, assessing vulnerability and risks involved, and systematic use of (GIS)-enabled platforms to map mitigation measures sustainably, with special reference to the metropolitan flood mitigation endeavors.

This book balances the theoretical with empirical approaches to form a unique standpoint on the various challenges and possible solutions to urban flooding in India. Through a study of major urban flood incidents, this book analyzes the factors which contribute to the rising risk of flooding with increasing urbanization, population dynamics, growth, and urban sprawl, with particular focus on the cities of Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad in India. It also examines disaster governance on urban floods and legislative prospects of flood disasters through discussions on standing acts, United Nations (UN) directives, and internationally adopted practices and actions, which are applicable in the Indian context.

An interdisciplinary study, this book brings together tools and research from various disciplines including geography, urban and regional planning, and GIS. It will be an invaluable resource for researchers, scholars, engineers, students, planners, academicians, and professionals of cross-disciplines to help them resolve the problem of urban flooding. It will also be of interest to the general reader seeking to learn more about disasters, urban flooding, engineering, and GIS.

Narendar Kumar is working as an urban planner with the Sustainable Cities & Transport program at World Resources Institute (WRI) India and lives in village Lasedi of district Churu, Rajasthan, India. He is a trained geographer and spatial planner with four years of experience in the fields of urban and regional planning. He has worked at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur; IIT-Guwahati; and Nagpur Municipal Corporation for various projects of town planning. He has largely worked on the preparation of the master plans, regional plans, and zonal development plans. He has also worked on the Zonal Master Plan of Nahargarh Wildlife Sanctuary and Eco-Sensitive Zone, and the National Rurban Mission, Government of India. Additionally, he was engaged as an assistant professor as a visiting faculty member at Jagannath University, Jaipur, where he taught in the M.Tech urban planning discipline. Mr. Kumar is an honored life Associate of the Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI), New Delhi, and he is interested in teaching, research, writing books and monographs, and learning across disciplines.