According to a report realise at 2014, in the year of 2050, there would be over 9 billion population and 66% of the population would be living in urban areas (United Nation 2014). There will be around 5.9 Billion people living in urban areas which would require an increase of urban areas. The road is one of the important components of City infrastructure, it represents the circulation of a City. It is the only element in the city that allows large amounts of transportations and pedestrians flow on daily bases. Therefore, it is important to make sure that roads are always available and easy to access. However, roads cannot function under flooding which usually causes under extreme weather condition and insufficient drainage system.
Topmix Permeable concrete is design by Tarmac to provide a solution to stormwater management. It is also known as the ‘thirsty concrete’ which could quickly drain away 600L of water per minute. The water can be drain away to the soil or recycle for other uses. Due to the drainage capability of the concrete, it can also prevent flooding of in many urban areas (Tarmac 2016).
Fig 1. Different types of Topmix Permeable concrete (Tarmac 2016).
I think that road has always been an important component of the city infrastructure. The ‘Thirsty Concrete’ is an innovated material that can improve the quality of the infrastructure and reduce maintenance on drainage systems. It would definitely help areas that are troubled by Stormwater and flooding issues to develop in the future. I believe the application of the concrete could be an important transition toward a sustainable city. I think the technology can be also applied to another aspect in a sustainable city such as accessible rooftops and parks or outdoor playgrounds.
Resources
United Nation. (2014). World Urbanization Prospects The 2014 Revision – Highlights. [pdf] UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Available at https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/publications/files/wup2014-highlights.Pdf [Accessed 4 March 2017].
Tarmac. (March 2016). Topmix Permeable: The ideal concrete solution for surface and storm water management. [pdf] Tarmac: A CRH Company. Available at: http://www.tarmac.com/media/957194/topmix-permeable-brochure-march-2016.pdf [Accessed 4 March 2017].
Tarmac (2015). Topmix Permeable - The ultimate permeable concrete system. [video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlFX_WTFIis&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 4 March 2017].
Thirsty concrete will be very useful during floods, specially in urban areas. Improvement of concrete infrastructure is one of the best solution to ever increasing urban population. One such innovation is Chilling Plant They are very useful in places with hot weather.
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