Episode 4 - City Resilience and the Role of Nature-based Solutions in Manchester- David Hodcroft
City Resilience and the Role of Nature-Based Solutions in Greater Manchester – David Hodcroft
Greater Manchester has long been a city at the forefront of innovation. Benjamin Disraeli, at the time the Prime Minister of Britain, once referred to this by saying that “What Manchester does today, the rest of the world does tomorrow.”
Home to some 3 million people and nestled between the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District, Greater Manchester has always had an interconnected relationship with water. The city is criss-crossed by canals that were once essential for the development of trade and transport, and together with the docks and shipbuilding yards, contributed to the industrial might of Manchester during the Industrial Revolution.
In this episode of the Rebalance Earth podcast, we speak with David Hodcroft, Infrastructure Team Lead at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), about the city’s pioneering efforts to integrate nature-based solutions (NBS) into urban planning and infrastructure management. It was a chance to see whether Disraeli had been right all along!
Manchester, the “Venice of the North”, has a long and deep
association with water due to its extensive canal system.
A Legacy of Collaboration
Despite the challenges of post-industrial decline, the city region has demonstrated resilience through collaboration with the formation of the GMCA, made up of representatives of the ten councils of Greater Manchester together with the Mayor.
This unique governance structure, built on collective decision-making, has enabled Manchester to take a “place-first” approach. Unlike other, more centralised systems, GMCA’s structure allows local communities to work collaboratively on shared priorities.
The major benefit of this is the possibility to take a systems-based approach, and deal with factors that have an impact across the wider Manchester area in a combined and unified manner. This is in stark contrast to many other regional and/or local authorities who often work in isolation, focusing on their own immediate problems and limiting the possibilities of a joined-up thinking approach.
Integrated Water Management: A Collaborative Vision
This systems-based approach means that Greater Manchester can autonomously organise large scale strategies and initiatives that will have impact right across the wider area. One of GMCA’s standout initiatives is the Integrated Water Management Plan (IWMP), approved in 2023. As David explained, the plan emerged from a need to address Greater Manchester’s vulnerabilities to flooding, drought, and water quality challenges. “Water doesn’t respect boundaries,” David noted, highlighting the fragmented responsibilities among local authorities from the Environment Agency, water companies, local authorities and other stakeholders. Water is an absolutely integral part of any ecosystem, and in trying to set boundaries of responsibility, it was too easy to view as somebody else’s problem.
Approved with the specific goal of tackling these complexities, the IWMP brings together all the above to align efforts under a shared vision: managing water sustainably for socio-economic and environmental benefits to the Greater Manchester area.
Although the idea of Integrated Water Resource Management is not a new one, with its roots in the 1992 Dublin Conference on Water, by implementing it, Manchester joins other forward-thinking cities such as Copenhagen, Singapore and Melbourne. The approach embodies systems thinking, where challenges are seen as interconnected rather than isolated issues. The benefit is that solutions can be developed that work for the area as a whole, rather than just a specific problem, which might then cause unintended negative effects.
Another example of collaborative tendency is the partnership between universities, local authorities, and communities in citizen science initiatives. Programs like FreshWater Watch engage residents in monitoring water quality and biodiversity in local streams. These projects not only provide critical data for NbS planning but also foster community engagement and ownership, ensuring long-term success in both their development and maintenance.
The FreshWater Watch initiative encourages citizens to
take an active part in measuring water quality and biodiversity,
developing community involvement.
Nature-based Solutions in Manchester
David shared a practical example of this vision in action, with the sustainable development of Stockport. Here, sustainable development has taken center stage through a collaborative project involving GMCA, local authorities, and private developers. Focused on a major redevelopment site in Stockport Town Centre, it dealt with the transformation of the former bus depot and industrial area into a vibrant, resilient urban connectivity hub.
At the heart of the project is the integration of green and blue infrastructure. Green roofs, permeable surfaces, and bioswales (a type of rain garden that absorbs and filters surface water) have been implemented to manage surface water runoff effectively. These nature-based solutions reduce dependence on traditional “grey infrastructure” drainage systems while enhancing the area’s biodiversity and visual appeal.
The redeveloped Stockport Interchange, using a high concentration of Nature-based Solutions and incorporating everything from green roofs, rainwater harvesting, bioswales and permeable surfaces.
Beyond this, the project has also included measures to disconnect surface water from the sewer network. By collaborating with United Utilities, funding was secured for green infrastructure, including rooftop gardens and rainwater harvesting systems. This means that water is kept out of the sewage system, where it would otherwise have ended up, contributing to an overwhelming of the drainage system during rainfall events and leading to flooding and an increase in sewage discharges. These features not only mitigate flood risks (valuable in itself) but also contribute to the site’s overall sustainability, supporting the town’s vision for net-zero carbon development.
This approach mirrors successful international examples, such as Copenhagen’s Climate Resilient Neighborhood project. Like Stockport, Copenhagen has transformed urban areas through green infrastructure, including permeable pavements and public parks designed to absorb and store rainwater during storms. In Osaka, the creation of Namba Parks retail and office complex on the site of the former Osaka Stadium has incorporated a rooftop garden concept which means that instead of channeling rainwater into the city sewage system, the water is stored, helping to create a green and flourishing environment that increases biodiversity, reduces the heat island effect and also creates a beautiful natural environment for visitors and locals alike to enjoy. The similarities demonstrate the global applicability of nature-based solutions and how incorporating them into infrastructure planning creates a range of positive impacts.
A view of the roof terrace at the innovative Namba Parks development in Osaka. Housing a mixture of office and retail space, the green roof has many positive impacts on the surrounding area.
Nature as Infrastructure
The concept of nature as infrastructure has gained traction in Greater Manchester, thanks to its ability to address urban challenges holistically. “We can’t just keep building walls higher,” David remarked, pointing out the limitations of traditional engineering approaches to flood management. Instead, integrating green and blue infrastructure—like wetlands, green roofs, and permeable pavements—offers cost-effective, sustainable solutions.
A key element of Manchester’s strategy is creating its own “Sponge City”, a concept that relates to the ability of a city to absorb and manage water efficiently (you can see how these work in this video here) Through initiatives like the Green Recovery program, GMCA is transforming urban landscapes to be more porous, reducing the burden on drainage systems and minimizing flood risks.
The recently redeveloped West Gorton Community Park,
which acts as a sponge to absorb and store surface
water during rainfall events, reducing flood risks.
The city’s focus on permeable paving and rain gardens has been particularly successful in residential areas prone to flooding. For example, in neighborhoods near the Irwell River, bioswales and infiltration trenches have been installed to manage runoff during heavy rain. Studies indicate that such systems can reduce runoff volumes by up to 60% and reduce peak stormwater flows by approximately 30%, significantly mitigating the risk of flooding. Additionally, bioswales have been shown to remove up to 80% of total suspended solids and 70% of heavy metals from stormwater, enhancing water quality. “We want the urban area to be more porous,” explained David.
A diagram showing the functioning of a bioswale.
Understanding the many benefits of using Nature as infrastructure from an early stage in a planning concept allows for it to be included from the very beginning, ensuring a reduced impact from any new developments from the start.
However, Manchester is not just limiting itself to including NbS in new projects. The “Green Manchester” initiative focuses on retrofitting older urban areas with green infrastructure. Projects include converting underutilized spaces into community parks with bioswales and rain gardens, which help manage stormwater and provide green spaces for residents. Additionally, tree-planting programs have been rolled out across the city, aiming to increase shade and reduce the urban heat island effect.
Children at St Willibrord’s RC Primary School in Clayton, planting
trees donated by Manchester City Council
Conclusion
Greater Manchester’s pioneering efforts in integrating nature-based solutions demonstrate how cities can build resilience through collaboration and innovation. By treating nature as infrastructure and leveraging partnerships, the city is addressing immediate climate risks while laying the foundation for a sustainable future.
To honour David’s request, we would like to include this passage from Donella H. Meadow’s essay “Dancing with Systems”:
“Living successfully in a world of complex systems means expanding not only time horizons and thought horizons; above all it means expanding the horizons of caring.
There are moral reasons for doing that, of course. And if moral arguments are not sufficient, systems thinking provides the practical reasons to back up the moral ones. The real system is interconnected. No part of the human race is separate either from other human beings or from the global ecosystem.
It will not be possible in this integrated world for your heart to succeed if your lungs fail, or for your company to succeed if your workers fail, or for the rich in Los Angeles to succeed if the poor in Los Angeles fail, or for Europe to succeed if Africa fails, or for the global economy to succeed if the global environment fails.”
As other urban areas look to emulate Manchester’s success, the lessons are clear: prioritize systems thinking, engage stakeholders meaningfully, and invest in solutions that balance short-term needs with long-term resilience. Manchester’s journey offers a compelling blueprint for urban sustainability, and if, as the saying goes, “what Manchester does today, the world does tomorrow” the future looks bright for Nature-based solutions for infrastructure as we build a world worth living in.