Yu Kongjian nearly drowned as a boy when his village flooded, but it inspired him to come up with the sponge city concept. It’s now being rolled out across China. In Singapore too, parks and lakes are being engineered to soak up excess water. They embrace the flood water rather than block it with concrete barriers. It comes as cities around the world are struggling to cope with more extreme weather caused by climate change.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

Reporter: Tessa Wong

Producer: Claire Bates

Image: Zhejiang, China (Turenscape)