Casually mention the term “green infrastructure” in a discussion, and it’s likely that every participant will conjure a different picture of what those words mean. But for planners devoted to its principles based on restoring natural processes in the built environment, the term is generating a lot of enthusiasm. By mimicking natural systems and using vegetation and soil instead of relying solely on concrete systems to facilitate drainage, green infrastructure offers communities affordable, scalable solutions to storm water management and chronic flooding problems. These can range from large-scale regional interventions to small installations on residential and commercial lots.
Community decision makers across the nation are taking note and fueling a renaissance of green infrastructure projects big and small. In eastern Los Angeles County, for instance, a coalition of 62 government agencies are working to implement the Emerald Necklace Vision, an ambitious plan to integrate parks and greenways into an interconnected 17-mile loop designed to solve drainage issues, provide new recreational sites, and reduce ambient air temperature.
Closer to home, green infrastructure is also taking root as government agencies seek creative solutions to chronic problems. New Orleans’ department of public works teamed up with the Sewerage & Water Board to use green infrastructure to address repetitive street flooding in the Black Pearl neighborhood. The project installed new sub-surface drainage lines in conjunction with rain gardens and pervious parking lanes to reduce subsidence while retaining and draining storm water. In Baton Rouge, Episcopal High School saved more than $400,000 by choosing to install a raingarden and bioswale instead of re-piping the student quadrangle. According to Corey Wilson, Superintendent of BREC, their park lands handled over 9.95 billion gallons of water during the 2016 great flood. That is enough water to fill Tiger Stadium 71 times.
The common denominator in all of these efforts is thinking differently about managing water. Green infrastructure entails a more efficient approach to using land that provides multiple benefits to citizens in the form of improved water and air quality, reduced flood risk, and reduction of the urban heat island effect. Planners are using green infrastructure to mitigate flooding in distressed neighborhoods while also creating additional recreational space and aesthetic beauty. Green infrastructure opportunities range from capturing the actual monetary value of resiliency projects to lower insurance costs, to attracting and leveraging capital for public-private partnerships, to using water resilience as a tool for climate equity -- or literally bringing greening strategies door to door in an urban environment. Civic leaders across the nation are discovering that by employing these strategies, they can elevate the general quality of life for the entire community in a cost-effective way.
Leaders, practitioners and advocates from across Louisiana who are interested in learning more are in for a treat at the annual CPEX Smart Growth Summit in Baton Rouge. An interactive session will feature some of the nation’s leaders in green infrastructure sharing their insights and pragmatic advice for deploying strategies at all scales. Green Infrastructure will also be a key component in the session on climate change adaptation and building the communities of the future.
This will be an incredible gathering of thought leaders from across the United States who are at the forefront of resiliency planning. We are very excited to bring them together here for this year’s Smart Growth Conference:
Lisa Beyer, with Urban Water Infrastructure at the World Resources Institute in San Francisco, will speak on her work developing and scaling financially innovative, environmentally-sustainable municipal water management solutions in cities across the nation.
Rebecca Page from Earth Economics in Seattle will share details of her work identifying ways to fund green infrastructure through ecosystem service valuation, benefit-cost analysis and development of accounting standards that incorporate the benefits of natural processes.
Drew Williams-Clark from the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago will share insights on how implementing green infrastructure projects can help bring climate equity to all areas of a community.
Louisiana’s own Angela Chalk of Healthy Community Services in New Orleans will discuss her organization’s groundbreaking work to introduce green infrastructure solutions in the city’s 7th ward. Her organization’s door-to-door campaign to bring rain barrels and increased tree cover to New Orleans’ most paved community is having measurable success in reducing the urban heat island effect while mitigating repetitive flooding. The work is a catalyst bringing about social change and improved well-being for 7th ward residents.
The summit promises to be an engaging and informative opportunity for all who attend. For the full agenda and more information on this year’s Smart Growth Summit, visit summit.cpex.org.