China's 'sponge cities' fail to prevent floods, raising concerns over disease outbreaks and rural-urban divide

China's "sponge city" initiative, aimed at reducing urban flood risks, has faced limitations in preventing recent devastating floods. The initiative, launched in 2015, focuses on using nature-based solutions to improve water distribution, drainage, and storage. While some pilot projects have shown positive results, implementation has been patchy, with only a fraction of cities adopting legislation to implement sponge city guidelines. Additionally, the infrastructure of sponge cities can only handle a limited amount of rainfall, and authorities are struggling to keep up with the impacts of climate change.