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

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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Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Water Science & Technology
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2025.045
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Research Data Management Practices
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
9.74
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article

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

Wenxi Liao, Elhadi Mohsen Hassan Abdalla, Omar Wani, Elena Cristiano et al.
3 citations
Water Science & Technology
Research Data Management Practices
9.74
article

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

Wenxi Liao, Elhadi Mohsen Hassan Abdalla, Omar Wani, Elena Cristiano, Bardia Roghani, Alexander Garzón, Job Augustijn van der Werf, Anubhav Mittal, E. Okwori, Haoyu Wei, Pierre Lechevallier, Juan Naves, Martin Oberascher, Vinicius J. Taguchi, Gersende Fernandes, Manuel Regueiro-Picallo, Vincent Pons, Baiqian Shi, Giovan Battista Cavadini, Paola Mazzoglio, Hayath Zime Yerima, Arjan Droste, Antonio Moreno, Margherita Evangelisti, Ico Broekhuizen, Alexandra Müller, Kelsey Smyth, Roberta D'Ambrosia, Emma Girot, Lukas Guericke, J. I. Perez-Alvarino, Spyridon Pritsis, T. Yıldızlı, E. Andrusenko
article en
3 citations

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.

Water Science & TechnologyVol. 91(7)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), Universidade da Coruña (ES), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Salerno (IT), North Carolina State University (US), Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar (CO), École nationale des ponts et chaussées (FR), University of Sassari (IT), Queensland University of Technology (AU), University of Cagliari (IT), SINTEF (NO), Politecnico di Torino (IT), Universität Innsbruck (AT), Luleå University of Technology (SE), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO), RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (SE), ETH Zurich (CH), Laboratoire Eau, Environnement et Systèmes Urbains (FR), Berlin Centre of Competence for Water (DE), École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État (FR), SINTEF Community, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (FR), McGill University (CA), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NO), Monash University (AU), New York University (US), Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (CH), University of Bologna (IT), Delft University of Technology (NL)
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Research Data Management Practices
9.74
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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