Greening Our Cities, Cleaning Our Environment, Improving Our Health

Cheryl Kollin, DirectorUrban Ecosystem Center

American Forests

The Urban Heat Island

Urban Heat Island Impacts An average of 381 people in the U.S. die of heat-related deaths

each year. (Cool Houston)

When the temperature rises above 90 degrees F. cities can not meet EPA standards for air quality. When the temperature is reduced to 70 degrees F., all communities can. (Akbari, LBL)

Air Quality and Asthma

8.6 million U.S. children have asthma, a 37% increase in 2 years (American Lung Association, 2003)

1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta spurred a 30% decline in traffic and a 45% drop in emergency room visits for children

1 acre of trees= absorbs 2.6 tons of CO2=1 car driving 26,000 miles annually

Trees are the Lungs of the City Absorbs pollutants

Stores and sequesters atmospheric carbon in trees’ wood

Provides direct shade on buildings, reducing their energy consumption.

Cool indirectly by evaporating water from their leaves, a natural air conditioning effect

The Natural Gym

Obesity rates have increased 60% in the last 10 years to 59 million adults

Obesity related health care costs exceed $100 billion per year, which is more than smoking related costs

If you provide walk and bikeways in attractive settings, they will come.

Nature’s Sunscreen

Melanoma has doubled in the U.S. in the last 20 years with more than 1 million cases each year

Trees reduce UV-B exposure by about half; taking twice as long to burn in the shade as in the sun (Grant; Purdue & Heisler; US Forest Service)

Nature’s Sunscreen

Trees help protect against sun in playgrounds and other urban settings esp. on reflective exteriors that reduce heat

Shade Trees on Playgrounds (STOP) Skin Cancer Program, Arkansas Forestry Commission’s Urban and Community Forestry Program

Trees Reduce Stormwater Runoff

Captures water on their leaves and branches.

Reduces peak flow and total volume

Time

Ru

noff

Vo

lum

e

Tree Effects on Runoff

Hydrograph

less treesmore trees

Decrease total runoff volume

Trees Are the Kidneys of the City…filtering water pollutants

Reduces pollutant loading in surface water

Reduces sediment and nutrient levels in water bodies

Reduces erosion near streams and stabilizes banks

The Healing Power of Trees

When viewing trees and green space instead of blank walls, bricks, concrete or bare ground…

REDUCED RECOVERY TIME Surgery patients recovered more quickly and used less pain medication (Roger Ulrich).

REDUCED STRESS Inner city low-income residents in high rise buildings formed stronger social relationships and had less crime (Sullivan and Kuo)

With CITYgreen you can…

Calculate the value of trees in terms of» Stormwater Mitigation» Air Quality Improvement» Water Quality Improvement» Carbon

Storage/Sequestration» Energy Conservation

Model future tree growth

Create and analyze alternate development scenarios

Mecklenburg County, NC

Percentages

1984 Landcover

Mecklenburg County, NC

Percentages

2003 Landcover

20% loss of tree cover and open space

157%increase in impervious surface over 19 yrs.

Air Pollution

Rainfall

Soils

Landcover

Bottom Line

Land Structure + Ecological Analysis Model = Decision Support Material

Urban Ecosystem Analysis Model

Mecklenburg Benefits ChangeCounty

“If brute force or massive amounts of energy don’t work, then you are not using enough of them”

—William McDonough

Why Smart Growth? Why Green Infrastructure?

Charlotte, NC ranked 17th worst in nation for ozone and N02 pollution (American Lung Association)

City’s 2025 Plan encourages more compact urban land use planning and regional transportation planning including mass transit

Smart Growth can integrate green infrastructure into planning

Smart Growth Principles Relating to Green Infrastructure

Preserve Open Space, Farmland, Natural Beauty and Critical Environmental Areas

Strengthen and Direct Development Towards Existing Communities

Take Advantage of Compact Building Design

Foster Distinctive, Attractive Communities with a Strong Sense of Place

Create Walkable Neighborhoods

Make Development Decisions Predictable, Fair and Cost Effective

Encourage Community and Stakeholder Collaboration

Scales of Green Infrastructure Watershed Scale

City, County, Regional/Rural Scale

Neighborhood/Suburban Scale

Site/Urban Scale

 #1. Preserve Open Space, Farmland, Natural Beauty and Critical Environmental

Areas

Goal for the Central Carolinas is to connect green infrastructure regionally

Vision Map 2020

Ribbonwalk Nature Preserve

94% tree canopy (179 acres) 5% open space .2% impervious surface

Ribbonwalk’s Woodlands, Wetlands, and Meadows

Features beech trees with 35” diameters

Provides $2.3 million in stormwater runoff value

$35,000 annual air pollution removal value

Ribbonwalk Part of The Irwin Watershed

40% tree canopy (7,800 acres)

20% open space 30% impervious Provides $133 million in

stormwater mgt. value Provides $1.5 million in

annual air pollution mitigation value

Rewrote their zoning ordinance to preserve of large open space areas east and west of town based on ecological criteria

Town of Huntersville, NC Ecosystem Services

$163 million in stormwater runoff savings

$2 million in air pollution mitigation value annually

» 20,000 acres

» 53% tree canopy

» 26% open space

» 11% impervious

Town of Huntersville, NC

Rewrote zoning ordinances to replace auto-centered development with TND’s: pedestrian-oriented, social neighborhoods.

Low Impact Development (LID) in zoning ordinance maintains stormwater on site.

#2. Strengthens and Directs Development Towards Existing Communities

Charlotte’s Southend Redevelopment

» Revitalize Old Industrial Areas

» Increase density within ¼ mile of light rail

Southend Can Become Greener 390 acres 10% tree canopy 72% impervious 12% open space

Southend’s Environmental Benefits

Current Tree Canopy Provides

» $1 million in stormwater value

» $7,400 in annual air quality value

» 5-15% improvement in air quality value

#3.Create Walkable Neighborhoods

South Blvd main thoroughfare redeveloped with light rail and pedestrian access

#4.Take Advantage of Compact Building Design

Huntersville Promotes Denser Development Toward The Interstate & within ¼ mile of planned light rail transit station

Urban open space required within ¼ mile from every residential lot

Birkdale Mixed Use Center

#5. Foster Distinctive, Attractive Communities with a Strong Sense of Place

Myers Park Planned Community (2,200 acres) Designed by John Nolan in 1911

Myers Park Tree Canopy Integral to Character of Community

» 67% tree canopy (1,500 acres)

» 13% open space

» 13% impervious surface

Myers Park Environmental Benefits

$25 million in stormwater runoff management value

$293,000 in air pollution removal benefits

#6. Make Development Decisions Predictable, Fair and Cost Effective

For metropolitan areas east of the Mississippi and in the Pacific Northwest:

Average tree cover counting all zones

40%

Suburban residential zones 50%

Urban residential zones 25%

Central business districts 15%

Set community-wide tree canopy goals

#7. Encourage Community Collaboration

“For those [communities] not immediately facing non-attainment, we will work toward ensuring that poor air quality does not become an issue for you.”

—Joe White, Chairman, Centralina Council of Governments.

Carolina Piedmont Green Initiative supports SEQL

15 counties in North and South Carolina

Integrate air quality, sustainable growth, and water resources affecting the region

Intergovernmental cooperation to tackle common issues

Uses green infrastructure as an asset

Putting Green Infrastructure into Smart Growth

Measure and set regional scale green infrastructure goals

Use green infrastructure tools to test smart growth practices with ecosystem services provided

Implement goals at a local scale-project by project

Time

Ru

nof f

Vo

lum

e

Tree Effects on Runoff

Hydrograph

less treesmore trees

Decrease total runoff volume

www.americanforests.org

“The best development intricately links nature with the built environment”. --Sara Gutterman, Green Builder Inc.