The schoolyard of Paris’s Avenue Daumesnil École Maternelle doesn’t look like the site of a revolution: It’s the modest play space of a state-run kindergarten.
But look closer. The yard has just been subtly remodeled to make it better able to tolerate a hotter, wetter world. Over the summer break, its conventional impermeable concrete surfaces were ripped up and replaced with a porous sub-layer that can act as a sponge for stormwater. Over this base went a layer of fully permeable pavement that allows water to drain through, minimizing the risk of flooding.
