UN-Habitat calls water foundation of modern urban planning

UN-Habitat stated that water should be considered a fundamental element of modern urban planning, Rayne Ferretti, head of UN-Habitat's Brazil office, said at an event during WUF13, Report informs.

She stated that water-centric models are becoming increasingly important in modern urban planning.

"Today, we can no longer plan-in fact, we never really knew how to plan-but especially in Brazil and Latin America, most of our cities are not planned in terms of water, roads, or people. In other words, water was not part of the planning process from the start. Now we increasingly understand that water is a fundamental element, a true pillar of urban planning," Ferretti noted.

She emphasized that in Brazil, the majority of major natural disasters with fatalities are related to water events.

According to the UN-Habitat representative, this demonstrates the need to consider water resources in urban development.

"Planning without taking water resources into account is a mistake. Moreover, for a long time, architects and urbanists in Brazil sought to 'close off' rivers: sometimes you walk down the street and don't even know there's water flowing beneath you," she added.