Resilience and the city: the water sector

This paper describes historical measures taken by the water sector to increase resilience. Drawing mainly on UK practice and experience in England and Wales, it includes a brief discussion on the nature of urban resilience and on some of the technical, social, political, institutional and environmental factors involved. The main part of the paper covers the measures used to increase resilience in the sector, including those related to water resources, supply, drainage, flood protection and co-systems. The paper concludes with notes on recent developments in the UK, with particular emphasis on the serious urban flooding incidents in the last eight years and their implications for urban resilience.