What is a Water-Wise community? And how can urban and water leaders and professionals contribute to the transition towards “Sustainable Urban Water” in their cities?

City densification, limited resources and an uncertain future are the new urban reality. The Principles for Water-Wise cities , establish a strong framework for urban stakeholders to start or continue their journey to water-wise cities. One of its cornerstones is collaborative action to address the challenges in urban water management via integrating water in all aspects of city planning.

This webinar will outline the Principles that are structured along four Levels of Action and will focus on how the 4th Level, building “Water-Wise communities” enables all others. These communities can be characterized by Empowered Citizens, Professionals Aware of Water Co-benefits, Transdisciplinary Planning Teams, Policy Makers Enabling Water-Wise Action and leaders that Engage and Engender Trust. Case studies from different cities, each with their own approach, demonstrate that water wise communities drive innovation and, ultimately, the ownership of resilient and liveable city outcomes. . Danielle Gallet (Metropolitan Planning Council Chicago) will share experiences on the Calumet Stormwater Collaborative (CSC). City water stories from Melbourne, Kampala and Singapore will be presented by Rob Skinner and Briony Rogers (Monash Water Sensitive Cities), followed by an interactive panel discussion.