Author(s): Diego Rodriguez; Zahra Thomas; Fabrice Rodriguez

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Climate change; Hydrological modelling; Urban environments; FAIR data; GIS

Abstract: Facing the challenges posed by climate change, cities are increasingly adapting their urban planning practices to improve hydrological performance. Questions arise regarding the widespread implementation of infiltration devices as a key component of the integrated urban water management. These devices promote surface-soil exchanges. Depending on context and configuration, they can differently impact the hydrological functioning of urban catchments. Spatially distributed hydrological models represent a promising tool for supporting future urban planning. They allow the evaluation of the full hydrological cycle at the local or catchment scale, providing technical insights and guidance to territorial stakeholders. Recently developed neighborhoods serve as urban laboratories, where the evolution of the hydrological functioning has been studied through on-site instrumentation. These sensors capture quantitative changes in water fluxes as growing urbanization takes place offering an opportunity for robust model calibration that accounts for heterogeneity representation and parametrization. This paper presents a concise overview of the modelling approach applied in a neighborhood in Rennes, France - from historical geographical data collection and processing to model calibration supported by existing knowledge of the hydrogeological context. Future work should focus on operationalizing these models as decision-support tools, enabling anticipation of the impacts of urban development on water management optimization.

DOI:

Year: 2026