Architecture Commons^™

The Cost Of Green Infrastructure: Worth The Investment?, Martha Sheils

Green Infrastructure

Is GI worth the investment?

• LID techniques often lead to cost savings when we look at WHOLE PROJECT COSTS

• Natural Infrastructure investments for flood control, drinking water protection and wildlife habitat can yield SIGNIFICANT AVOIDED COSTS and additional co-benefits to communitites

Ipswich River Watershed - Planning And Designing Green Infrastructure Networks, Samantha R. Anderson, Alyssandra Black, Ngoc Xuan Doan, Trudy M. Hall, Keith W. Hannon, Irene Estelle Miller, Colin N. O'Donnell, Amanda Lynn Rookey, Yan Xu

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

This project focuses on the Ipswich River Watershed in the suburbanizing North Shore region of metropolitan Boston. The Ipswich River is one of the most threatened rivers in the United States due to increased development and drinking water withdrawals from neighboring towns that impact the water quality and quantity. In order to address these environmental issues, this studio developed a green infrastructure plan for the watershed that proposes protecting open space within water resource areas, preserving wildlife habitat areas, and creating recreational linkages. Each student in the course developed a focus area at the local scale to illustrate implementing green …

Green Infrastructure Design For Stormwater Runoff And Water Quality: Empirical Evidence From Large Watershed-Scale Community Developments, Bo Yang, Shujuan Li

Bo Yang

Green infrastructure (GI) design is advocated as a new paradigm for stormwater management, whereas current knowledge of GI design is mostly based on isolated design strategies used at small-scale sites. This study presents empirical findings from two watershed-scale community projects (89.4 km2 and 55.7 km2) in suburban Houston, Texas. The GI development integrates a suite of on-site, infiltration-based stormwater management designs, and an adjacent community development follows conventional drainage design. Parcel data were used to estimate the site impervious cover area. Observed streamflow and water quality data (i.e., NO3-N, NH3-N, and TP) were correlated with the site imperviousness. Results show …

Design-With-Nature For Multifunctional Landscapes: Environmental Benefits And Social Barriers In Community Development, Bo Yang, Ming-Han Li, Shujuan Li

Bo Yang

Since the early 1970s, Ian McHarg’s design-with-nature concept has been inspiring landscape architects, community and regional planners, and liked-minded professionals to create designs that take advantage of ecosystem services and promote environmental and public health. This study bridges the gap in the literature that has resulted from a lack of empirical examinations on the multiple performance benefits derived through design-with-nature and the under-investigated social aspect emanated from McHarg’s Ecological Determinism design approach. The Woodlands, TX, USA, an ecologically designed community development under McHarg’s approach, is compared with two adjacent communities that follow the conventional design approach. Using national environmental databases …

Community Planning Approach And Residents’ Perceived Safety: A Landscape Analysis Of Park Design In The Woodlands, Texas, Bo Yang, Shujuan Li, Bret R. Elder, Zhe Wang

Bo Yang

This study compares community-park design and residents’ perceptions of safety in two subdivision communities in The Woodlands, Texas. The communities were built following two different planning approaches — the ecological approach and the conventional approach. Surveys have shown that residents generally feel safer in community parks built according to the latter approach. Using landscape metrics and home-to-park proximity indicators, we examine how different planning approaches affect park design and, as a result, influence residents’ perceptions of safety. We cross-validated the results with survey studies conducted over several years. The study findings suggest that park location, spatial configuration of woody vegetation, …