Surviving the Fluidity: Adaptive Water Design in Sinking Megacities

Join the Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability for our Fall 2026 Speaker Series on Urban Climate Adaptation.

Bangkok is a “Three-Water City”—constantly negotiating rain, river runoff, and ocean tides. As rapid urban expansion intensifies water stress, delta megacities across the Global South are sinking and becoming increasingly flood-prone. These cities have long relied on massive pumps and concrete walls to force water out, yet this infrastructure fails communities on the ecological and economic margins. Designing the process is as important as designing the solution. Bridging municipal planning with bottom-up community action, Kotchakorn Voraakhom will share how her projects transform rigid barriers into porous, nature-based landscapes. Central to this approach is amplifying the “voice of the voiceless” by co-designing with informal settlement residents bearing the brunt of climate impacts. Ultimately, she reframes landscape architecture as a collaborative practice that protects vulnerable communities, restores delta ecosystems, and builds social justice at the water’s edge.