Abstract
Water quality, flooding risk, and water consumption in urban areas are emerging  issues. Urban impervious surfaces increase stormwater runoff,  affecting ecosystems  and leading to hydrogeological instability and flooding risk. Sustainable urban design strategies can contribute to counteract the negative impact of anthropic activities both at city-scale and global scale. Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) approaches, in particular, are an alternative to stormwater traditional management. In Europe, Sustainable Drainage System implementation copes with impervious surfaces to achieve water quality, amenity, and biodiversity increase. Best Management Practices, developed mainly in the USA, focus on specific measures for sustainable stormwater treatment. Water Sensitive Urban Design, spread in Australia and England, also aims to minimize the impact of developed areas preventing flood risk, limiting water consumption and enhancing environmental quality. In the USA and Canada, Low Impact Development offers design strategies to manage runoff and deliver structural practices to mimic predevelopment processes of infiltration, filtration and detention.