Nature-Based Flood Buffers in Informally Developed Settlements

Ahmed Rahman

Nature-Based Flood Buffers in Informally Developed Settlements

Author(s)	Dr. Ahmed Rahman
Country	United States
Abstract	Informally developed settlements experience disproportionate flood risk because housing expansion frequently occurs ahead of formal drainage provision, land-use regulation, secure tenure arrangements, and coordinated environmental management. Conventional flood-control infrastructure remains necessary in many high-risk locations, yet exclusive dependence on engineered drainage can be financially, spatially, and institutionally difficult in dense low-income settlements. This study develops a simulation-based framework for evaluating nature-based flood buffers as decentralized components of neighborhood-scale flood-risk reduction. The assessment considers bioswales, rain gardens, pocket wetlands, riparian buffers, and hybrid green–gray systems using five criteria: hydraulic attenuation, spatial compatibility, maintenance feasibility, social co-benefits, and tenure-related implementation feasibility. A weighted Flood Buffer Suitability Index is used to compare interventions under standardized hypothetical settlement conditions. The simulation indicates that hybrid green–gray arrangements provide the highest overall suitability score of 77.4, followed by rain gardens at 70.2, riparian buffers at 69.2, pocket wetlands at 68.4, and bioswales at 67.3. Simulated peak-runoff reductions range from 18% for bioswales to 46% for hybrid systems. The findings suggest that nature-based buffers should not be viewed as substitutes for essential drainage infrastructure. Their strongest contribution lies in forming distributed retention, infiltration, conveyance, and ecological-buffer networks that reduce pressure on conventional drainage while providing environmental and social benefits. Successful implementation depends on co-design with residents, protection against displacement, maintenance arrangements, waste-management integration, and adaptation to local land-tenure conditions. The study provides a transferable planning framework for evaluating flood-buffer portfolios before site-specific hydraulic modeling and field implementation.
Keywords	nature-based solutions, informal settlements, urban flooding, flood buffers, green infrastructure, climate adaptation, urban resilience, stormwater management
Field	Engineering
Published In	Volume 6, Issue 5, September-October 2025
Published On	2025-09-21

View / Download PDF File

About AJAMIR Fees & Payment Current Issue Publication Archive	Submit Research Paper Track Submission Status Publication Guidelines Publication Ethics Peer Review & Plagiarism	Join as a Reviewer Editors & Reviewers Reviewer Referral Program Get Reviewer Membership Certi.	Website/Journal Policies Usage Policy Content Policies Privacy Policy

Contact Us		+1-872-302-3851	editor@ajamir.com

American Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Innovation and Research

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

Nature-Based Flood Buffers in Informally Developed Settlements

Share this