As climate warms, a China planner advocates “sponge cities”


              Residents walk along a stretch of dried up Poyang Lake as the sun sets in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. A prolonged drought since July has dramatically shrunk China’s biggest freshwater lake, Poyang. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Residents gather at the base of Falling Star Mound that is normally surrounded by the waters of Poyang Lake but is exposed during drought season in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. A prolonged drought since July has dramatically shrunk China’s biggest freshwater lake, Poyang. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Parched earth frames the remainder of a tributary on a dried arid stretch of the Poyang Lake in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. A prolonged drought since July has dramatically shrunk China’s biggest freshwater lake, Poyang. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              The cracked bed of the Poyang Lake is exposed during drought season in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. A prolonged drought since July has dramatically shrunk China’s biggest freshwater lake, Poyang. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Boats are stranded as water levels plunge around Poyang Lake during drought season in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. A prolonged drought since July has dramatically shrunk China’s biggest freshwater lake, Poyang. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Residents using shovels and metal detector to search for antique coins and metal parts as the bed of Poyang Lake is accessible during drought season in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. A prolonged drought since July has dramatically shrunk China’s biggest freshwater lake, Poyang. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Ships pass through a narrow stretch of water over a dried up Poyang Lake in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. A prolonged drought since July has dramatically shrunk China’s biggest freshwater lake, Poyang. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Duan Yunzhen, 73, collects water from a village pond to water his crops during drought season along Poyang Lake in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. On the lake's normally water-blessed northeast corner, residents scooped buckets of water from a village pond to tend their vegetables. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              A farmer waters her crops with water collected from a village pond along Poyang Lake in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. On the lake's normally water-blessed northeast corner, residents scooped buckets of water from a village pond to tend their vegetables. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Duan Yunzhen, 73, waters his crop with water collected from a village pond along Poyang Lake in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. On the lake's normally water-blessed northeast corner, residents scooped buckets of water from a village pond to tend their vegetables. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Duan Yunzhen, 73, uses clumps of grass to control water spillage from the pails as he collects water from a village pond to water his crops during drought season along Poyang Lake in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. On the lake's normally water-blessed northeast corner, residents scooped buckets of water from a village pond to tend their vegetables. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Cracked earth is visible at a tributary leading into the dried arid stretch of the Poyang Lake in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. A prolonged drought since July has dramatically shrunk China’s biggest freshwater lake, Poyang. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              The sun sets near the "Fish Tail" sponge park that's built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. The concept of the park involves creating and expanding parks and ponds within urban areas to prevent flooding and absorb water for times of drought. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Residents enjoy their day at the "Fish Tail" sponge park that's built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. The concept of the park involves creating and expanding parks and ponds within urban areas to prevent flooding and absorb water for times of drought. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              A woman swirls her jacket as she poses for photos at the "Fish Tail" sponge park that's built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. The concept of the park involves creating and expanding parks and ponds within urban areas to prevent flooding and absorb water for times of drought. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Fang Yuan, an engineer with Turenscape which helped design the "Fish Tail" sponge park that's built on a former coal ash dump site, holds up a permeable volcanic rock to show a plant sprouting from it in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. Yuan said the park serves as “an ecological aquarium,” capable of retaining 1 million cubic meters of water during floods and can keep water in use, instead of just discharging it into the sewage system. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Residents rest on benches near a permeable section as mist is sprayed at the "Fish Tail" sponge park that's built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. The concept of the park involves creating and expanding parks and ponds within urban areas to prevent flooding and absorb water for times of drought. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Children play at a pond and plants at the "Fish Tail" sponge park built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. The concept of the park involves creating and expanding parks and ponds within urban areas to prevent flooding and absorb water for times of drought. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              A child holds up a plastic bag containing baby ducks as she walks past a pond and plants at the "Fish Tail" sponge park built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.  The concept of the park involves creating and expanding parks and ponds within urban areas to prevent flooding and absorb water for times of drought. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Residents hold up fans with flower designs to hide their faces as they dance at the "Fish Tail" sponge park that's built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. The concept of the park involves creating and expanding parks and ponds within urban areas to prevent flooding and absorb water for times of drought. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              A child looks for fish with a net as he walks near a pond and water plants at the "Fish Tail" sponge park built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. The concept of the park involves creating and expanding parks and ponds within urban areas to prevent flooding and absorb water for times of drought. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
            
              Architect Yu Kongjian unrolls handwritten designs for parklands during an interview at his firm's office in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. Kongjian works to counter a concrete-based infrastructure that he says works against nature – trapping water within the city during floods, siphoning it away during droughts. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
            
              Architect Yu Kongjian speaks during an interview at his firm's office in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. Kongjian works to counter a concrete-based infrastructure that he says works against nature – trapping water within the city during floods, siphoning it away during droughts. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
            
              A walkway goes through ponds and islets at the "Fish Tail" sponge park that's built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China's Jiangxi province on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. The concept of the park involves creating and expanding parks and ponds within urban areas to prevent flooding and absorb water for times of drought. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
As climate warms, a China planner advocates “sponge cities”