engleski

Stormwater Management: Regulations & Challenges in Croatia

The Republic of Croatia is a medium-sized, partially Mediterranean, and partially Central European country, with 56.578 km2 of land area and the population of 4, 2 million people. Almost half of the Croatian land gravitates towards the Adriatic seashore, and the tourism that takes place in that region is the most important economic activity of the state. Cities and settlements of the continental part of Croatia are located in spacious, mild and protective environment, where global climate change and coping with extreme disruptive natural events caused by stormwater (fortunately) are not (yet) in focus. Natural floodplains, large share of permeabile (natural, green) land cover in urban and suburban landscape, porous karst relief, spacious mosaic of natural landscape and current technical solutions are still sufficient to keep the area of the continental Croatia resilient. Croatian coastal region is one of the most attractive parts of the state. The seascape is formed of crystal blue Adriatic sea, about 1.185 islands, fragrant mediterranean vegetation, sounds of crickets and birds, limestone architecture, centuries-old heritage, nautical and fishing tradition and beautiful beaches. Due to its natural, historical, climatic and cultural values, since the 19th century, Croatia, especially coastal region, is developing organized tourism. The pressure of the touristic development and building-up the coast is in constant growth for the past seventy years. Croatian coast is faced with uncontrolled, illegal and low-quality urbanization, urban sprawl and overbuilding. Concequences, among the others, are loss of existing urban green areas and neglected need for planning new ones. Today, the lack of natural component of the urban fabric (urban green areas) is, from „only“ a visual and an aesthetic problem, becoming the issue of sustainability, resilience and survival. Case study was conducted to examine the current state of urban green areas of the typical coastal touristic destination and the consequences resulted from excessive stormwater in the observed area. The City of Crikvenica, small touristic town in the Kvarner bay, the north part of the Adriatic sea, was chosen for the case study. The timeframe for the case study was past ten years. Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied for spatial analysis of the land cower, together with the survey of the scientific reports and media sources concerning the climate of the studied area. In the area of dry and warm mediterranean climate, extremely large amounts of stormwater in a short time are no longer an exceptional occurrence. In the observed area, in the past ten years, destructive nature-caused stormwater incidents happend at least once every year. Past five years, in the summer (usually dry) part of the year, between June and October, there were extreme events caused by stormwater almost once a month. Some kind of pattern for stormwater- caused-flooding-frequency exists. The exception has become an „usual“ thing. The climate has changed. Urban green areas are the most effective in coping with the climatic extremes. Especially to soak the rainfall. Case study on the typical touristic coastal destination showed a very small (< 5%) share of green areas within urban fabric. Insufficient green areas, together with climatic stormwater events, dominant gray infrastructure and nearest surroundings devastated by forest fires, resulted with incapacity to absorb intense and increased stormwater. Intensive rainstorms often result with flooded streets, promenades, squares and other public spaces. There are not enough green areas to soak it up and the capacity of the existing sewerage system is insufficient. Dealing with problems caused by extreme disruptive natural events usually comes down to discussion about the repercussions of the incident, occasionally, through the media. Very few research on the sustainable stormwater management were published by croatian scientists and experts. Civil engineer sector usually deals with the topic, providing technical solutions (e.g. porous concrete, hydrotechnical construction). Architects, especially landscape architects, rarely have the opportunity to participate in the projects related to stormwater management. Although the landscape is recognized as one of the most important resources of the country, a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach required to overcome contemporary challenges in the landscape, including the sustainable stormwater management, in Croatia still isn't recognized and applied.

mediterranean ; tourism ; urban green areas ; stormwater management

nije evidentirano