Europe’s sponge cities are turning rain from waste into a valuable resource

Wild weather swings have turned water into a dual threat for Europe’s cities. When storms hit, there’s too much of it. When droughts come, there’s too little.

But some experts believe that the ‘sponge city’ model – a nature-based approach to urban planning pioneered in China two decades ago – could help cities put a new spin on the old saying ‘save for a rainy day’.