Resilient Economies Strategies for Sinking Cities and Flood Risks 2025

How sinking cities arise, its systemic impacts and making progress FIGURE 10 Addressing land subsidence and compounding risks depends on a holistic understanding of the interconnections, behaviours and feedback loops between factors, impacts, drivers and enablers. Effective understanding of these relationships are essential for fostering and sustaining places where people would want to live, work and visit both in the short- and long-term.Drivers and enablers: foundational components to address subsidence and compounding risks – Land and water as high value and finite strategic assets – Strong governance and leadership – Systems thinking and a holistic approach – Evidence-based approaches and decisions – Prevention and mitigation – Adaptation and resilience – Effective regulation and policy – Building resilient infrastructure – Investment and financial mechanisms– Research, technology and data – Stakeholders and community Over extraction of underground resource and mining (e.g. water, oil, gas, geothermal)Urbanization pressures (e.g. increased load related to geological conditions, inadequate land use practices)Climate change (e.g. sea-level rise, extreme weather: rainfall, storms, heatwaves, drought, wildfires)Natural conditions and shifts (e.g. local geology, seasonal groundwater fluctuations seismic activity)Factors: increases land subsidence and associated risks Impacts: direct and indirect threats of land subsidence and compounding risks, particularly when sinking land interacts with climate risks Environmental – Flooding – Coastal and inland habitat loss (e.g. biodiversity, wetlands, marshes, beaches) – Saltwater intrusion – Freshwater contamination – Groundwater aquifer storage reduction – Land loss, soil erosion, sand and sediment disruptionsEconomic – Infrastructure damages and management disruptions (e.g. buildings, utilities, transport) – Property devaluation, housing and office space availability – Business, operational and supply chain disruptions and displacement – Workforce and job disruptions – Agricultural risks: food and water stability – Increased costs and resource disruptions Social – Health, well-being and safety risks (e.g. waterborne and vector-borne diseases, respiratory, toxic contaminations, injuries) – Social displacement and instability – Socioeconomic disparities, including financial security – Increased vulnerability to residents of informal settlements and slums – Reduced workforce and education participation (especially for the most vulnerable groups)141 Resilient Economies: Strategies for Sinking Cities and Flood Risks 33