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Flooded with potential: urban drainage science as seen by early-career researchers

Abstract

This opinion paper reflects on the current challenges facing urban drainage systems (UDS) research, along with solutions for fostering sustainable development. Over the course of a year-long project involving 92 participants aged 24–38, including PhD candidates, post-doctoral researchers, and early-career academics, we identified critical challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development of UDS. Our exploration highlights four key challenges: limited public visibility leading to resource constraints, insufficient collaboration across subfields, issues with data scarcity and data sharing, and geographical specificities. We emphasise the importance of raising public and political awareness regarding UDS's vital role in climate adaptation and urban resilience, advocating for blue-green infrastructure and open data practices. Additionally, we address systemic academic barriers that hinder innovative research. We call for a shift away from metrics that prioritise quantity over quality. We recommend establishing stable career pathways that empower early-career researchers. This paper aims to catalyse a broader community dialogue about the future of UDS research, uniting voices from various career stages. By presenting actionable recommendations, we aim to inspire fundamental changes in research conduct, evaluation, and sustainability, ensuring the field of UDS is prepared to meet pressing urban water management challenges worldwide.
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Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

  • J. A. van der Werf
  • Vincent Pons
  • Smyth Kelsey
  • B. Shi
  • P. Lechevallier
  • Elhadi Mohsen Hassan Abdalla
  • E. Andrusenko
  • I. Broekhuizen
  • G. B. Cavadini
  • A. F. Cortés Moreno
  • E. Cristiano
  • R. D'Ambrosio
  • A. M. Droste
  • M. Evangelisti
  • G. S. Fernandes
  • A. Garzón
  • E. Girot
  • L. Guericke
  • W. Liao
  • P. Mazzoglio
  • A. Mittal
  • A. Müller
  • J. Naves
  • M. Oberascher
  • E. Okwori
  • J. I. Perez-Alvarino
  • Spyros Pritsis
  • M. Regueiro-Picallo
  • Bardia Roghani
  • V. J. Taguchi
  • O. Wani
  • H. Wei
  • T. Yıldızlı
  • H. Z. Yerima

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Community / Architectural Engineering
  • Luleå University of Technology
  • RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
  • France
  • INSA Lyon
  • University Claude Bernard (Lyon I)
  • Politecnico di Torino
  • University of Bologna
  • University of Cagliari
  • University of Salerno
  • University of Sassari
  • Delft University of Technology
  • Spain
  • Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich
  • Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
  • University of Innsbruck
  • Norwegian University of Life Sciences
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  • McGill University
  • New York University
  • North Carolina State University
  • Colombia
  • Central Queensland University
  • Monash University

Year

2025

Published in

Water Science and Technology

ISSN

0273-1223

Volume

91

Issue

7

Page(s)

861 - 875

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository