Stormwater Management

Workers screwing down wood panels on NYC sidewalk to prepare subway system for flooding.

NYC plans sewer upgrades after back-to-back floods

The city is working to expand sewer capacity and improve other stormwater storage and capture systems to prevent flooding.

July 24, 2026 - PIX 11

Man in rain gear rides a bicycle on a bike lane lined with grassy landscaping in Cardiff, Wales on a rainy day.

This UK city's bike lanes double as rain gardens and wildlife habitats

Cardiff is combining mobility infrastructure with greening measures to help conserve water, clean the air, and provide shade and greenery.

May 26, 2026 - Bloomberg CityLab

Google Street View of wide roadway flanked by green trees in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Milwaukee Road to Get Complete Streets Upgrades

The city will reduce vehicle lanes and build a protected multi-use trail including bioswales and other water retention features on its ‘secret highway.’

April 28, 2025 - Urban Milwaukee

Close-up of Chicago Sewer manhole cover.

Chicago to Update Stormwater Plan

Chicago is one of 700 U.S. cities with combined sewer and stormwater systems that often lead to flooding during major rain events.

November 5, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Stormwater

Study: Outdated Stormwater Infrastructure Exacerbates Flooding

Infrastructure built to mitigate flooding a century ago no longer serves current needs.

September 6, 2024 - Tech Xplore

Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Opinion: Cities Need Green Infrastructure to Weather Future Storms

How ‘sponge cities’ can protect residents and conserve water.

May 15, 2024 - Next City

Culvert under a road in northern Wisconsin with frozen water blocking most of the pipe.

Wisconsin to Invest Over $400M in Water Infrastructure

The state’s Clean Water Fund helps cities improve stormwater management, replace aging infrastructure, and upgrade wastewater treatment facilities.

January 3, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Green alley under construction

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.

February 2, 2023 - Curbed

View of concrete schoolyard in New York City through fence

How Green Schoolyards Benefit Kids, Cities, and the Climate

Transforming asphalt schoolyards into green spaces with porous surfaces can improve the well-being of students and neighbors and contribute to more effective stormwater management in urban areas.

January 30, 2023 - Next City

View of Austin, Texas skyline at dusk with Colorado River and bridge in foreground

New Green Development Rules Take Effect in Austin

The city updated its development code to include more robust protection for local wetlands and stricter sustainable stormwater infrastructure requirements.

November 10, 2022 - Urbanize Austin

Boston street with four-story bricks buildings

Boston Unveils Green Infrastructure Plan

The city will start by redesigning curb extensions to incorporate elements that improve flood prevention and stormwater management.

October 30, 2022 - Smart Cities Dive

Wastewater California

Wastewater System Upgrade Plans Already Out of Date

Some Midwest cities' plans to upgrade decades-old sewer systems rely on outdated rainfall predictions as flood risks grow due to climate change and shifting weather patterns.

March 10, 2022 - Grist

U.S. Capital

The Lesser-Known Programs in the Infrastructure Bill

While the focus has been on flashier components of the infrastructure bill, some smaller initiatives could have outsized impacts by shifting priorities and funding resilience efforts.

January 23, 2022 - Governing

Image of Buford Highway, Georgia

Major Redevelopment Planned for Gwinnett County, Georgia

City leaders in Norcross, Georgia approved a plan that would bring new housing, retail, and parks to a 'long-neglected' stretch of highway.

October 18, 2021 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Houston Metro

Federal Dollars Could Pave the Way for Greener, More Equitable Infrastructure

Houston's director of Transportation and Drainage Operations wants to see more sustainable development in the city that has historically depended on freeways as its critical infrastructure.

October 11, 2021 - Houston Chronicle

Mississippi River

Permeable Pavements Required for Parking, Sidewalks in New Orleans

New Orleans is looking for new ways to mitigate the effects of stormwater that regularly floods the city.

May 29, 2020 - NOLA.com

Louisiana Wetlands

New Orleans Convent to Become Large Urban Wetland

Hurricane Katrina damaged a Catholic convent in New Orleans. Then the nuns spearheaded a project to transform the land into a wetland area that will protect the city from flooding in the future.

January 22, 2020 - Changing America

Mississippi River Missouri

Leaving Flood-Prone Area Free of Development Would Save Billions, Study Says

It makes more fiscal sense to buy flood-prone land and conserve it than to cover the costs of the damages to developments, according to researchers from the University of Bristol and other institutions.

December 15, 2019 - St. Louis Public Radio

Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver, Rain City

Vancouver has committed to green stormwater infrastructure by approving a Rain City Strategy that establishes an Integrated Stormwater Management Plan for each watershed in the city.

November 14, 2019 - Water Canada

Los Angeles Downtown River

Los Angeles Wants its River Back From the Feds

Regional officials don't think the federal government is doing enough to warrant continued ownership of the Los Angeles River flood control channels that cut a 40-mile path through the city and county.

February 26, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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