Water can be an important cause of damage to roads, but we can also turn this around: roads have a major impact on the local availability of water resources. Roads change run-off, affect subsurface water flows, can cause compaction or gullying – but roads can also route water to storage ponds or recharge areas, can help retain water in dry riverbeds and ensure systematic spreading of floodwater.
Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are the fastest growing in the world. Across Africa urbanisation trends urge the development of infrastructure to ‘unlock regions’ and improve transport means, and access to education and health. On the other side, the higher road and traffic density also holds a threat; increasing pressure on the natural resources to the – often poor – rural communities living along the road depending on agriculture.
In this video MetaMeta shows in a Google flight how these issues can be tackled and even how road communities can benefit of the road projects.
More info: mvanbeusekom@metameta.nl
Produced by: TheWaterChannel
Year: 2013
Language: English
Region: Global