Spongier cities are needed to cope with increasingly extreme weather.

A report by the Helen Clark Foundation and environmental consultancy WSP New Zealand highlights a series of actions cities can take to help mitigate future flooding.

Report author Kali Mercier told Mike Hosking that Auckland is making efforts, but there is plenty more the rest of New Zealand can do.

She says that putting trees alongside streets, green roofs on high rise buildings, and bringing concreted over streams to the surface can have a huge impact on reducing flooding risk.

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