Knowledge
 
 

Can wetlands become the heart of everyday urban life?

While wetlands are widely recognized as vital ecosystems, they also play a crucial role in shaping tomorrow’s climate-resilient cities. In cities, they appear both as natural systems slowly surrounded by urban growth, and as newly created ecosystems designed within dense urban settings. At OKRA, we harness the indispensable role of urban wetlands as:

  • buffering against climate extremes
  • reducing floods
  • filtering pollution
  • cooling neighbourhoods
  • anchoring biodiversity

By integrating design interventions such as rain gardens, bioswales, SuDS, and other nature-based systems, we create interconnected networks that prove even the smallest wetland can play a powerful role in the health of a city.

Can wetlands become the heart of everyday urban life?

Protecting wetlands for future cities

Among the world’s most diverse environments, stretching from lakes, rivers, marshes, estuaries, peatlands, and floodplains to man-made ponds and reservoirs, wetlands are also the planet’s most threatened ecosystem. With nearly 90% already degraded, there is an urgency to restore and integrate them into our cities as natural habitats, strengthening meaningful connections between people, water, and biodiversity. We integrate water management and spatial quality in our designs, returning water to nature and thus safeguarding wetlands for future generations.

River restoration through riparian buffers
Floodplain restoration: reconnecting to rivers
 
 
 

Explore our wetlands

 

In Marina Park, natural wetland areas are woven with social spaces, turning flood challenges into defining features
The former industrial area of Keerdok is being reshaped into a nature-inclusive green destination that enhances the city’s ecological framework
In Clogheenmilcon Fen, our design approaches the Fen as a living wetland system, where ecology remains at the centre
 

Discover our insights