From permeable paving to green roofs, a number of cost-effective and sustainable strategies have emerged for managing water closer to where it falls, rather than directing it into pipes. SPUR explains 8 promising tools for managing stormwater.
"While 'grey' or traditional infrastructure remains an essential part of safe and effective design for flood control and urban watershed management, it is no longer the only tool in the toolbox," write Kurt Pelzer and Laura Tam. "Green infrastructure systems, by contrast, harness natural processes to infiltrate, recharge, evaporate, harvest and reuse stormwater. They use soils, topography, vegetation and engineered materials to soften the impact of urban development on water resources and ecosystems in cities. And the benefits of such systems extend beyond stormwater treatment and flood control to include carbon sequestration, recreational amenities, habitat creation and beautification."
Pelzer and Tam explain the mechanics and advantages and disadvantages of eight different tools for sinking, slowing, reusing, and moving stormwater.
FULL STORY: 8 Shades of Green Infrastructure
Adapting Combined Sewer-Stormwater Systems to Climate Change
Only one coastal city has a sewer system that must handle stormwater as well as wastewater. San Francisco's efforts to adapt its combined sewer-stormwater system has put it on the vanguard of the city's climate adaptation efforts.
Opinion: Cities Need Green Infrastructure to Weather Future Storms
How ‘sponge cities’ can protect residents and conserve water.
Green Alleys: A New Paradigm for Stormwater Management
Rather than shuttling stormwater away from the city and into the ocean as quickly as possible, Los Angeles is now—slowly—moving toward a ‘city-as-sponge’ approach that would capture and reclaim more water to recharge crucial reservoirs.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions