CEWP-PI Lot 3 – China Europe Cooperation on Sponge Cities (CECoSC) – had a Partner Meeting in Sweden and Finland 3rd – 7th September, 2018. A Chinese Delegation from Beijing Water Authority, China Academy of Urban Planning and Design and the municipality of Changde city paid a visit to the European project partners.
As the water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it, so a wise man adapts himself to circumstances – Confucius.
Adapting to our natural environment is one of mankind’s biggest challenges. Dealing with urbanization and its water issues nowadays is not an exception. While challenging at times, in our various site visits in Sweden and Finland it became visible that many obstacles can be translated into opportunities. During the week the Chinese delegation were able to interact and experience the Swedish and Finnish approaches in regard to the Sponge City concept.
Besides visiting inspiring projects, the meeting between the EU and CN partners in Scandinavia was also the setting for bringing the EU–CN collaboration within the LOT 3 project a step further. This physical meeting appeared pivotal as each party were able to speak out their shared views and differences in relation to the Lot 3 project scope. The debate showed a positive attitude towards the project, yet it also revealed that the needs and expectations on the Chinese side could be more aligned with the LOT3 project objectives.
This meeting in Sweden and Finland did not only bring new inspiration for each party, but it also improved one’s way of understanding the Sponge Cities Concept through knowledge exchange. Therefore, it is important that we need collaborations, because we learn faster together. The PI-CEWP projects provides the activities to relive the Sponge cities Concept together, so that we may attain a sustainable and integrative way to adapt ourselves to different circumstances.