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2014 Park Pride Parks and Greenspace Conference Presenter is David Rouse
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Green Infrastructure 101
Overview and Key Concepts
David Rouse, AICP, ASLAResearch DirectorAmerican Planning Association
• Definitions
• Benefits
• Principles
Green Infrastructure Definitions
An interconnected network of natural areas and other open spaces that conserves natural ecosystem values and functions, sustains clean area and water, and provides a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife.
Mark A. Benedict and Edward T. McMahon, Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities, Island Press, 2006
Systems and practices that use or mimic natural processes to infiltrate, evapotranspirate, or reuse stormwater on the site where it is generated.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Green Infrastructure Definitions
Green infrastructure as landscape…the physical manifestation of processes that connect the built and natural environments, performing multiple functions and yielding associated benefits for the health and well-being of people and wildlife.
PAS Report 571, Green Infrastructure: A Landscape Approach, p. 11
Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, FranceGreen City, Clean Waters, City of PhiladelphiaTrinity River, Karen S. Walz
Green Infrastructure Examples Across Scales
Regional Scale
• Natural Preserves
• Working Farms and Forests
• River Corridors
City Scale
• Urban Forest / Tree Canopy
• Urban Parks
• Parkways and Boulevards
Green Infrastructure Examples Across Scales
Area Scale
• Local Parks
• Constructed Wetlands
• Green Streets
Site/Building Scale
• Stormwater Planters
• Rain Gardens
• Green Roofs
Green Infrastructure Benefits
The Triple Bottom Line
GreenPlan Philadelphia
Green Infrastructure and Public Health
The mission of the public health profession is to fulfill society’s interest in assuring conditions in which people can be healthy….
…Medterms Medical Dictionary
Railroad Park, Birmingham, Tom Leader Studio
Green schoolyard, before and after, WRT for the City of Philadelphia
Green Infrastructure and Public Health
How can green infrastructure contribute to assuring conditions in which people can be healthy?
• It can improve environmental conditions such as air and water quality that impact human health.
• It can encourage walking, biking, and other forms of physical activity.
• It can improve mental health by bringing people into contact with nature.
• It can increase safety through design.
• It can reduce health disparities in poor and marginalized communities (environmental justice).
There is a growing body of evidence to support these connections…
Kathleen L. Wolf, PhD. http://www.naturewithin.info/
Green Infrastructure and Systems Thinking
SYSTEM PRINCIPLES
• Interconnections: relationships (flows and interactions) that hold the parts of a system together.
• Stock: material or information that has accumulated over time from flows through the system.
• Feedback loop: a circular pathway formed by an effect returning to its cause and generating more or less of the same effect.
• Leverage point: a place where a targeted intervention results in a significant change in system behavior.
• Resilience: the ability of a system to recover from or adapt to disturbance or change.
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Principles
1. Multi-Functionality
2. Connectivity
3. Habitability
4. Resiliency
5. Identity
6. Return on Investment
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Principles
1. Multi-Functionality
Use green infrastructure to provide multiple environmental, economic, and social benefits in the landscape.
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Principles
2. Connectivity
Maximize the benefits of green infrastructure as a physically connected network across the landscape.
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Principles
3. Habitability
Provide landscape “habitat” in which people, flora, and fauna can be healthy.
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Principles
4. Resiliency
Increase the capacity of communities to recover from or adapt to disturbance and change.
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Principles
5. Identity
Use green infrastructure as an expression of sense of place in the landscape.
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Principles
6. Return on Investment
“Monetize” green infrastructure to reduce costs and provide positive financial outcomes.
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Principles
1. Multi-Functionality
2. Connectivity
3. Habitability
4. Resiliency
5. Identity
6. Return on Investment
Daniel McCormick, “Intersections,” a watershed sculpture on the Carolina Thread Trail, Charlotte, NC
What is this picture?
What principles does it express?
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Project Types, Scales, and Principles (Planning)
Pro
ject
Typ
es
and
Sca
les
Principles
Regional Growth / Vision Plans
Functional Plans (Regional)
Functional Plans (Local)
Comprehensive Plans
Development Regulations and Codes
Capital Improvements
Green Infrastructure in Practice: Project Types, Scales, and Principles (Planning)
Pro
ject
Typ
es
and
Sca
les
Principles
Regional Growth / Vision Plans
Functional Plans (Regional)
Functional Plans (Local Govt.)
Comprehensive Plans
Development Regulations and Codes
Capital Improvements
Lancaster County, PA Green Infrastructure Plan
FUNCTIONAL PLAN (REGIONAL)
Habitat preservation, land conservation, recreation, stormwatermanagement.
System connects across rural, suburban, and urban landscapes.
Promotes health of people and ecosystems.
Absorption of flood waters, carbon sequestration.
Natural areas, streamcorridors, and parks & trails provide regional identity.
Ecotourism is a key part of the economy.
Hubs and Greenways Concept Map
Greenscapes, Lancaster County Green Infrastructure Plan
Green Infrastructure 101
David Rouse, AICP, ASLAResearch DirectorAmerican Planning Association
