From Data to Decisions: How AI and NBS Are Transforming Urban Runoff Management

Harnessing Innovation to Tackle Urban Runoff

Urban runoff is one of those invisible problems that affect us all. Each time it rains, the water that flows across city streets and industrial areas picks up a cocktail of pollutants, from heavy metals to pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and other emerging contaminants. These substances are then carried into rivers and streams, quietly undermining water quality, threatening ecosystems, and posing risks to public health.

 D4RUNOFF is developing a new framework to better understand and manage runoff in urban environments, combining science, technology, and public engagement.

A Smart Digital Platform for Cities

At the heart of the project lies an AI-assisted digital platform. Designed as a decision-support system, this tool aims to bridge two major gaps in current urban runoff management:

• Technological gaps, by providing advanced methods to monitor, analyse, and predict runoff contamination in real time.
• Governance and decision-making gaps, by equipping both technical experts and policymakers with actionable information and tools to plan more effective interventions.

What makes this platform especially valuable is its versatility. The AI-assisted digital tool tackles the challenges of urban runoff management through a multidisciplinary approach. It is built for a broad spectrum of stakeholders — from technical operators and scientists to policymakers and citizens — offering tailored functionalities through four interconnected modules:

• Operational and strategic module: Assists in selecting, designing, and evaluating Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) with the help of AI.
• Risk assessment module: Identifies pollution risks and evaluates the feasibility of interventions.
• Policy module: Provides evidence to guide the adoption of NBS and the monitoring of emerging contaminants, supporting urban planning and local pilot management plans.
• Social module: Promotes awareness of runoff challenges and introduces NBS through engaging tools such as serious games.

In the long term, the platform aims to support better decision-making, improve how cities manage runoff, and reduce its contamination by encouraging the adoption of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS).

Learning by Playing: The D4RUNOFF Serious Game

Perhaps the most engaging feature of the Digital Platform is its Serious Game. This interactive tool puts players in the shoes of urban planners, challenging them to make cities safer and more sustainable.

Players are given responsibility for managing runoff in real pilot cities such as Santander (Spain), Odense (Denmark), and Pontedera (Italy). With limited budgets and workforces, they must make careful choices: Where to place a rain garden? Should they install green roofs? How will permeable pavements affect flooding?

Each decision matters. As players install different NBS in designated “Action Zones,” they see how their strategies influence stormwater quantity and quality, and even how they improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants. Beyond entertainment, the serious game has a clear educational purpose. It offers an immersive, risk-free learning environment where players discover how cities can adapt to climate change through green infrastructure.

Are you keen on playing? Check the short guide and be the next urban planner.

Shaping the Future Together

Our message is straightforward: building safer, climate-resilient cities comes down to the choices we make today. By blending cutting-edge research, artificial intelligence, and interactive learning, the project empowers everyone — from experts to ordinary citizens — to take part in designing a greener future.

And thanks to this innovative serious game, that future isn’t just theoretical. It’s something you can explore, test, and shape — one decision at a time.