Bigger Pipes or Greener Communities: A Hydrological Assessment of using Low Impact Development to Mitigate Future Flooding
Chris Jensen (120p) – Feb 2010
Climate change significantly raises the risk of rain-generated floods and infrastructure failure. To maintain current levels of service, drainage infrastructure will need to be modified and upgraded.
Patrick Condon’s Rule 1 for sustainable communities: Restore the streetcar city
Streetcar cities were walkable, transit accessible and virtually pollution free while still dramatically extending the distance citizens could cover during the day.
Patrick Condon’s Rule 2 for sustainable communities: Design an interconnected street system
Street systems either maximize connectivity or frustrate it. North American neighbourhoods built prior to 1950 were rich in connectivity.
New York City’s Green Infrastructure Plan and Sustainability Management
NYC Green Infrastructure Plan – cover (360p) – October 2010
The advantage of the green infrastructure approach is that it delivers the same degree of water retention as “grey,” but at a much lower price. When coupled with the traditional approach, it will allow the city to reduce sewer overflows into its waterways by 40% by 2030.
New York City’s Green Infrastructure Plan: “Green and Blue Coming to a Rooftop Near You”
Rooftop solutions are a major feature of the plan. The plan promotes both blue roofs, which divert rainwater by mechanical means, and green roofs, a layer of vegetation that can be installed on flat surfaces.
Patrick Condon’s Rule 3 for sustainable communities: Locate commercial services, frequent transit and schools within a five-minute walk
For the average person, the most compelling destination for regular walking is the corner store. If a convenience store is located less than a five-minute walk from home, the average person will walk there many times a week.
Patrick Condon’s Rule 4 for sustainable communities: Locate good jobs close to affordable homes
The chaotic and tortured relationship between jobs and housing, and the impossibility of reasonably connecting them, forces overuse of energy.
New York City to curb sewage surges with green infrastructure
NYC Green Infrastructure Plan – cover (360p) – October 2010
The city's hybrid gray and green strategy would invest $US2.4 billion over 20 years to comply with new regulations. A critical goal is to manage runoff from 10% of the impervious surfaces in combined seweer watersheds through detention and infiltration source controls.
Patrick Condon’s Rule 5 for sustainable communities: Provide a diversity of housing types
The homogeneity of our residential landscapes — in many cases, fostering a residential monoculture that covers whole municipalities — has undercut ecological sustainability.
Patrick Condon’s Rule 6 for sustainable communities: Create a linked system of natural areas and parks
From rooftop to yard to driveway to sidewalk to street, urban elements must behave like forest trees, understory plants, forest soils and intermittent water channels.