• Water Resources

Green Infrastructure Approaches for Managing Stormwater

Green infrastructure uses permeable, nature-based approaches for retaining and treating stormwater where it falls.  This tab presents resources on using green infrastructure to manage stormwater in the face of changing precipitation patterns due to climate change. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by resource type, impact, region, state, jurisdictional focus, or green infrastructure technique.

 

 

 

80 results are shown below.

Technique
Green Infrastructure Technique

 

 

Resource

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana: Jefferson Parish Watershed Management Plan and Balancing Water Campaign

May 20, 2022

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana lies on a coastal floodplain of the Gulf of Mexico and has more water than land area. The parish is innovating to adapt to rising sea levels and more extreme flooding in the region, and created the Balancing Water Campaign to mitigate flood risk and improve its communities’ resilience. The approach to balancing water levels focuses on rethinking how to manage the impacts of stormwater and land subsidence to live with more water, while increasing natural drainage across the floodplain. The Jefferson Parish Watershed Management Plan was developed as a part of the Balancing Water initiative, to guide local decisionmakers with resilient floodplain management strategies for capital improvements, regulatory revisions, and land use, while emphasizing the use of green infrastructure and low-impact development. In addition, the parish is undertaking other complementary efforts like elevating flood-prone homes with the support of federal grants, and participating in the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System (CRS) program and a Jefferson Parish CRS Users Group to further local flood resilience initiatives.

 

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Community-Informed Heat Relief: Policy Options for Addressing Urban Extreme Heat in High-Risk Communities

June 30, 2021

Extreme heat causes more deaths than any other weather-related hazard. Due to the legacy of racially discriminatory redlining practices and long-term lack of investment in their communities, people of color in urban areas are disproportionately exposed to high temperatures and suffer greater consequences. To help policymakers and communities address this public health threat, the Georgetown Climate Center is releasing Community-Informed Heat Relief: Policy Options for Addressing Urban Extreme Heat in High-Risk Communities to inform a new comprehensive heat plan currently being developed by the District of Columbia, and to serve as a resource for other cities impacted by urban extreme heat.

Author or Affiliated User: Katherine McCormick

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Miami-Dade County, Florida: Sea Level Rise Strategy

February 2021

In February 2021, Miami-Dade County, in collaboration with private consulting partners, released the Miami-Dade County Sea Level Rise Strategy. The strategy outlines the five different ways that the County, its agencies, and its partners can facilitate county-wide adaptation to climate impacts, especially sea-level rise: 1. ) building on fill; 2. ) building like the keys; 3. ) building on high ground around transit; 4. ) expanding greenways and blueways; and 5. ) creating blue and green neighborhoods.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Greening in Place: Protecting Communities from Displacement

October 2020

The Greening in Place guide serves to assist public agencies and developers in pursuing equitable green development and combating the displacement impacts that green investments can invoke. It includes an assessment of the displacement risks associated with green investment, a framework for equitable green development, several case studies, and a range of policies and strategies that can be used in partnership with the affected communities. By pursuing these strategies, park agencies and community advocates can advance racial and economic equity and promote healthy, sustainable, and inclusive green development.

Resource Category: Data and tools

 

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Denver Green Buildings Ordinance

November 2, 2018

The City of Denver, Colorado established a Green Buildings Ordinance in 2018 requiring all new and existing buildings over 25,000 square feet in size to incorporate a “cool roof” along with other green energy measures. The new ordinance strengthens Denver’s 2017 green roof ordinance to go beyond vegetated roof requirements with additional, cost-effective options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing urban heat island effects across the city.

Related Organizations: City of Denver, Colorado

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Building a Better Norfolk: A Zoning Ordinance of the 21st Century - Norfolk, Virginia

January 23, 2018

The City of Norfolk, Virginia adopted a new zoning ordinance in 2018 to enhance flood resilience and direct new more intense development to higher ground. The ordinance establishes a Coastal Resilience Overlay (CRO) zone, where new development and redevelopment will have to comply with new flood resilience requirements, and an Upland Resilience Overlay (URO), designed to encourage new development in areas of the city with lower risk of flooding.

Related Organizations: City of Norfolk, Virginia

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Green Infrastructure in Parks: A Guide to Collaboration, Funding, and Community Engagement

May 2017

In May 2017, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency released a guide on how stormwater management agencies could work with parks departments to integrate green infrastructure solutions into park lands. The guide walks municipalities through the steps of developing a green infrastructure program including: (1) identifying and engaging partners, (2) building relationships, (3) leveraging funding, (4) identifying opportunities for green infrastructure, (5) planning maintenance, and (6) undertaking pilot projects.

Related Organizations: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Case Study: City of Portland, Oregon Ecoroof Incentive

February 23, 2017

In 2008, The City of Portland Oregon adopted an Ecoroof Incentive program to address the city's stormwater management problems and the incentive program was active through 2012. The program provided an incentive for the installation of green roofs and other innovative roofing methods to better manage stormwater runoff. Green roofs have the potential to help mitigate both the urban heat island effect, increase the energy efficiency of buildings, and manage stormwater. 

Related Organizations: City of Portland, Oregon

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Subdivision Design and Flood Hazard Areas

2017

From the American Planning Association (APA), this report discusses strategies for using local subdivision ordinances and the site plan review process to enhance flood resilience. Recommendations are given for creating standards that protect natural floodplain function. The report discusses how climate change is increasing flood risks in communities.

Related Organizations: American Planning Association (APA), Association of State Floodplain Managers

Author or Affiliated User: James Schwab

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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GCC: Rebuilding with Resilience - Lessons from the Rebuild by Design Competition After Hurricane Sandy

November 15, 2016

This Georgetown Climate Center report analyzes the six winning Rebuild by Design competition projects that were awarded funding after Hurricane Sandy to demonstrate innovative approaches for rebuilding disaster-affected communities in ways that will enhance physical, social, economic, and environmental resilience. This report includes detailed case studies of each of the six winning projects two years into their implementation, and the report summarizes the important lessons that are being learned by officials at all levels of government as they work to design and construct these cutting-edge infrastructure projects in ways that will deliver multiple community benefits and prepare these communities for future impacts from climate change.

Related Organizations: The Rockefeller Foundation, Rebuild by Design, Georgetown Climate Center

Author or Affiliated User: Jessica Grannis

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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