YANGJiawen,LIJunqi,DUANJunjia.Reflections on the Dynamics and Development Trends of Sponge City Legislation[J].China Water & Wastewater,2026,42(8):23-31.
Reflections on the Dynamics and Development Trends of Sponge City Legislation
China Water & Wastewater[ISSN:1000-4062/CN:12-1073/TU]
volume:
第42卷
Number:
第8期
Page:
23-31
Column:
Date of publication:
2026-04-17
- Abstract:
- As a key strategy for China’s urban ecological transformation, the development of sponge city is facing an institutional bottleneck due to the absence of specialized national legislation. An analysis of the current legislative landscape reveals three primary challenges: insufficient legal authority, a lack of systemic coordination, and inadequate financial security mechanisms. To address these issues, we propose a path for constructing a systematic legal framework for sponge city. At the top?level design, a specialized national law should be enacted to create a legal architecture that combines national leadership with local innovation. Regarding normative content, the core objective is to transition from purely quiding provisions to a combination of mandatory and quiding norms. This includes legally codifying the government’s responsibilities, performance standards, and commercial dispute resolution mechanisms. At the implementation level, it is crucial to clarify judicial procedures and ensure alignment with higher?level laws to guarantee legal effect. This framework would provide the legal foundation for innovative financing instruments, such as stormwater discharge permits and stormwater fees, ultimately guiding the systematic, standardized, and long?term development of sponge city.
Last Update:
2026-04-17