Presentation - Regional Plan Association

Presentation - Regional Plan Association

Urban green infrastructure
- a case study in regenerative design -
Franco Montalto, PhD
1
What is a Lot?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A piece of land
History book
Watershed
Consumer
Producer
Neighbor
Habitat
Home
There are lots of lots!
One City
=
Many Lots
One Lot
=
Many Functions
• Ecological
• Health-related
• Infrastructural
• Micro-climatological
• Social
• Educational
• Economic
• Safety-related
• Recreational
• Inspirational
Multifunctional lots  Regenerative cities
Green Infrastructure Goals
• Integrate multifunctionality into the
design and redesign of urban lots
• Water-related and non water-related
goals
• Address lots as components of a
larger urban “system”
Land use change
Undeveloped
Developed
(Eco)hydrologic change
Images adapted from USEPA graphics
After spending $4 billion….
Is this regenerative design???
8
Management change
Grey, Centralized, Monofunctional
Green, Decentralized, Multifunctional
(Re)engineering the urban water cycle
Precipitation
(available free resource)
Potable water
(resource need)
Wastewater &
Stormwater (Waste
products)
“Conventional”
10
(Re)engineering the urban water cycle
Rainwater
harvesting
Precipitation
(EXPLOITED free resource)
Potable water
(LESSER resource
need)
Wastewater &
Stormwater (FEWER
waste products)
Water (re)use
“Green”
Infiltration
practices
11
Multiple Benefits
• Fewer water imports:
– Less required hard infrastructure
– Greater regional resilience to drought
– Fewer diversions of water from ecosystems
• Less “waste” water:
– Reduced treatment costs
– Reduced impacts to surface water bodies
• Restored/enhanced urban ecosystems
12
New habitats (human and other)
Brooklyn Bridge Park,
In collaboration with Prof. Steve
Hoffman, Parsons School of Design
13
Irrigation, exercise, recreation
West Ward Pride Garden,
Newark, NJ
Potable water substitution
Chiller and
ice maker
Habana Outpost, Brooklyn, NY
Rainwater for toilet flushing
Habana Outpost, Brooklyn, NY
Beneficial reuse of underutilized spaces
Added Value, Brooklyn, NY
Added Value – Master Plan
highlights
•
•
•
•
•
65,000 sf of planting beds
56% reduction in runoff
1,000 sf classroom and educational space
39,000 sf publically accessible park
Beneficial reuse of 1400 lbs of local
organic waste per week
• Using 60% less water and 70% less
energy compared to “conventional” design
18
The “Polselli Site”
Client: Urban Tree Connection (Phila, PA)
Students in CIVE 790 (Fall 09)
19
20
Benefits of Multifunctional
Engineering of the “Polselli Site”
• Permanent capping of a 2/3 acre brownfield
• Creation of ~15,000 sf of raised agricultural beds
• Production of 3 seasons of crops valued at ~ $30,000/yr
• Servicing of > 100 families with organic fruits and vegetables
• Beneficial use of approximately ~300,000 gallons/yr of stormwater
runoff generated on adjacent rooftops for irrigation
• Permanent reduction in loading of the combined sewer system
• Beneficial use of > 60,000 lbs/yr of organic food and garden wastes
as compost, a permanent diversion from landfills
21
Rendering: Angelo Zaharatos
22
Da
ta
125
16
-5
51 0
76 75
10 -100
112 125
6
15 -150
117 175
6
20 -200
122 225
6
25 -250
127 275
6
30 -300
132 325
6
35 -350
1
37 -375
640 400
1
42 -425
645 450
1
47 -475
650 500
1
60 -600
170 700
1
80 -800
9 0 1 -9
1 , 1 -1 0 0
00 , 0
2 , 1 -2 0 0
00 ,0
3, 1-3 00
00 ,0
4, 1-4 00
00 ,0
1- 00
5,0
0
>5 0
,0
00
0/
No
Frequency
Number
of Buildings
Building-scale supply reliability
SARET: the Storage and
300000
Reliability Estimation Tool
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
Building Footprint (sqare meters)
Basinger et al 2010, in review
Block-scale impacts
Millimeters per hour
90
80
Hourly Precipitation
Runoff w/out RWH
Runoff w/ RWH
Pot Wat w/out RWH
Pot Wat w/ RWH
70
60
25000
20000
15000
50
40
10000
30
20
5000
12/1/1988
11/1/1988
10/1/1988
9/1/1988
8/1/1988
7/1/1988
6/1/1988
5/1/1988
4/1/1988
3/1/1988
2/1/1988
0
1/1/1988
10
Cubic meters
100
28%
reduction in
annual runoff
53%
reduction in
potable water
demand
0
24
Basinger et al 2010, in review
Blue roofs
LIDRA: the Low Impact Development
Rapid Assessment Model
Green roofs
Rain gardens
Porous
pavement
Rain barrels
Curbside
infiltration
Yu et al 2010
Average reduction in annual volume
of runoff : ~73%
Funding: US Forest Service
Concluding remarks
• Multifunctionality is a key component of
regenerative design and planning
• Multi-scale benefits achieved through
incorporation of multiple sets of criteria in
the design process
• Requires creativity throughout project
planning, design, and implementation
26