Green Infrastructure – Environmental Stewardship and Urban Infrastructure

December 24, 2018December 24, 2018

Role of Green Infrastructure in Climate Change

Green infrastructure

The urban environment has various biophysical features and continuously interact with the surrounding environment. These interactions may be in the form of heat exchange in densely populated areas, an increase in the surface run-off of rainwater due to higher impervious surfaces in cities or even changes in the land use patterns. All these changes occurring to a place which previously never was in this state triggers a different set of interactions like an increase in temperature, changes in rainfall intensity and patterns. All these are symptoms of climate change and time has come for us to think and accept these changes occurring around us in order to address it.

Canadian Government’s Stand

The Canadian Government has realised the importance of green infrastructure and has allotted $5 billion through Canada Infrastructure Bank and $2.8 billion through a series of national programs. The importance in realising the relationship between public infrastructure and climate change and the need for climate change mitigation strategies in an investment decision-making process is the first step towards a sustainable future.

City of Toronto

It was in the year 2008, the City of Toronto became the first city in Canada to come up with a comprehensive climate change strategy. The document was titled as “Ahead of Storm”, and it contained a list of actions which might be either for short term or long term to address increasing flooding and heat waves. Toronto being one of the largest city in Canada has a population of approximately 2.7 million and has a continental climate with a daily mean temperature of 22.1°C in July and a maximum of 40.6°C. The effects of climate change are being seen with extreme heat, floods, new vector-borne diseases and drought. The 150mm rainfall in a span of just three hours in 2005, caused a flash flooding which damaged roads and basements. The overall estimate of property damage was up to $500 million. While the same summer had a completely different set of weather but with an exceeding temperature of 30°C for 41 days. The studies have shown that heat waves cause an average of 120 person’s death every year. Overall all these changes occurring around the city needed to be addressed before things went out of hand.

(Source: “Ahead of Storm”, 2008)

The city came up with initiatives like incentives whenever a green roof is installed either on a new building or a renovated one, green development standard for the new buildings aimed at reducing stormwater runoff and enhance neighbourhood green space. Some of the other key initiatives in addition to these were to come up with green parking lots which can reduce the heat reflected from the surfaces during summer and also regulate stormwater during the rainy season. Also a commitment to increase the tree canopy in the city which would increase the shade and reduce the urban heat island effect.

(Source: Green Infrastructure Ontario, GIO, 2016)

Barriers and Challenges

There are various misconceptions becoming barriers in implementing green infrastructure. Green infrastructure being a new concept for many, the performance and its assessment are unknown to many. There is a misconception of high price being associated with green infrastructure but many fail to realise that in the long run, the cost savings outweigh the initial investments. There are also no standardised codes or policies present to guide and encourage people to invest as the area of study and research is dynamic in nature. Developers are also sceptical in implementing new ideas due to increased initial costs which could potentially attract fewer customers. This is due to unfamiliarity in understanding the maintenance costs and long-term benefits. Many municipalities also lack resources to implement green infrastructure and there is a need for funding, updating development codes and educating builders, developers and public. Finally, there are design challenges due to the versatile nature of green infrastructure and it is important to understand that there are many strategies which exist to overcome these challenges.

Overall I feel that even though many cities in developed nations are realising and coming up with a climate change prevention actions, this would merely slow down the or extend the eventuality. There are still many parts of the world that are still not taking any necessary actions and even in the developed cities, many policies are not driven by care towards climate but with a view on continuous economic growth and financial growth being the centre of decision making. It is important to realise our responsibility to make the cities liveable in future for next generation and this is where one can strike a strong emotion with a cause for many policymakers to invest in green infrastructure and many other initiatives to curb climate change.

Sources:

GILL, S. E., HANDLEY, J. F., ENNOS, A. R., & PAULEIT, S. (2007). Adapting cities for climate change: The role of the green infrastructure. Built Environment (1978-), 33(1), 115-133. doi:10.2148/benv.33.1.115
“Green Infrastructure, Investing in Green Infrastrucutre” https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/gi-iv-eng.html
Kazmierczak, A., Carter, J., 2010. Adaptation to Climate Change Using Green and Blue Infrastructure. A Database of Case Studies. The University of Manchester, Manchester.
“Overcoming Barriers to Green Infrastructure” https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/overcoming-barriers-green-infrastructure

November 30, 2018

Green Infrastructure Initiatives in Canada

As a nation we are experiencing rapid urbanization and population growth rates that have lead to a significant increase in urban development. With this increased densification comes an expansion of impermeable areas that drastically reduce the land through which water can easily be absorbed into the ground. Leaders throughout the country are recognizing this growth in urbanization and Melina Scholefield (City of Vancouver) calls us to “[reimagine] what water means in our city” (CoV, 2017). Green infrastructure defines a set of tools and practices to combat the water quality and ecological consequences of increased development. Green infrastructure practices are “effective, economical, and [enhance] community safety and quality of life” (American Rivers, 2008).

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has found that “[urban] development affects both the quantity and quality of water” by changing the natural flow of stormwater runoff in a watershed (EPA, 2018). It is clear that when rain hits impervious surfaces including roofs, streets, and parking lots, large quantities of surface runoff divert and carry pollutants that harm plants and wildlife. Green infrastructure techniques such as rain gardens, permeable soils, and green roofs mimic the natural process of the water cycle and filter out pollutants before releasing the remaining runoff to storm sewers or waterways. The aforementioned techniques generate positive water quality effects but also increase the livability of our cities. Streets and buildings are made more inhabitable by improving their aesthetic appeal as well as reducing ambient air temperatures.

The City of Vancouver (CoV) has implemented a plan of action to transform its community and become the “Greenest City” by 2020 (CoV, 2012). Known for one of the highest precipitation levels in the world, the CoV recognizes that rising precipitation is inevitable due to increased global climate change. Sir Nicholas Stern, Chief Economist for the World Bank, has “estimated that failure to tackle the climate crisis could cost the global economy $6.6 trillion a year” (CoV, 2012). The “Greenest City” action plan consists of smaller plans like the “Rain City Strategy” that in particular targets green infrastructure development in an urban environment. The CoV’s “Rain City Strategy” hopes to transform the way rainwater is managed with a goal of improving water quality and livability. The South East False Creek project is one of the leading examples of green infrastructure put into practice in the CoV.

The figure above highlights key green infrastructure elements that include:

100% LEED certified buildings
Green roofs and permeable pavers
Habitat Compensation Island
Public parks, plazas, and gardens

Emma Luker’s report on lessons learned in the Olympic Village development provide evidence of improved water quality from the green roofs, permeable pavers, and habitat compensation island. Furthermore, the public parks, plazas, and gardens promote increased neighbourhood social interaction and provide additional community network opportunities (Luker, 2017).

Sustainable development has been adopted nationwide and cab be seen implemented by corporations that preach environmental sustainability. Mountain Equipment Co-op has displayed its commitment to environmental sustainability by installing green roofs on one of their Toronto retail locations. The state-of-the-art living roof features “planted indigenous meadow plants, flowers, and grasses that do not require frequent watering” (MEC, 2018). The figures below visualize the roof naturally passing rainwater collected on the roof to the creek below.

Additionally, the soil planted on MEC’s green roof pulls heat trapping C02 out of the atmosphere, effectively offsetting the effects of global warming as well as insulating the building to reduce heating requirements.

Green infrastructure solutions can be applied at varying scales, from a house or building level, to a broader landscape level. The restoration of the natural water cycle through green infrastructure techniques has proven to be effective and economical, and with increased urbanization green infrastructure will be at the forefront of urban sustainable development.

References

American Rivers. (2008). What is Green Infrastructure? Retrieved from https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/clean-water/green-infrastructure/what-is-green-infrastructure/

CoV. (2017). Green infrastructure: Sustainably managing our rainwater. Retrieved from https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/green-infrastructure.aspx

CoV. (2012). Greenest City 2020 Action Plan (Rep.). Retrieved November 30, 2018, from City of Vancouver website: https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Greenest-city-action-plan.pdf

EPA. (2018). Smart Growth and Water. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/smart-growth-and-water#background

Luker, E. (2017). Lessons Learned from Rainwater Management Strategies Used in the Olympic Village Development(Rep.). Vancouver: Greenest City Scholars Program.

MEC. (2018). Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC). Retrieved November 30, 2018, from http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/mountain-equipment-co-op-mec/

November 29, 2018

Green Infrastructure in the City of Vancouver

Green Infrastructure in the City of Vancouver focuses on sustainably managing rainwater runoff due to the high volumes of annual rainfall that Vancouver receives. According to the City of Vancouver, Green Infrastructure “mimics natural water processes. It works with plants, soils, trees, and built structures to capture and clean rainwater before returning it to our waterways and atmosphere.” The following video explains Green Infrastructure in the City of Vancouver in more detail.

In rural areas, rainwater would typically be absorbed into the ground and would either slowly drain into a stream or river, or be transpired through plants. In large cities however, rainwater often becomes contaminated with pollutants on impervious surfaces such as roofs or pavement and is then released back into rivers or streams at an “unnatural” pace. This can disrupt the natural process that rainfall would typically undergo, and if large rainfall events occur, rainwater can often end up in the sewage system, resulting in contaminated water.

Some examples of green infrastructure that have been implemented in the City of Vancouver include green roofs, rain-friendly streets, swales, rain gardens, and parks. Green roofs are considered “living roofs” and are covered with various plants and trees in order to reduce rainwater runoff. Green roofs can also help to insulate buildings, and provide habitat for smaller forms of wildlife, and pollinators. Rain friendly streets, swales and rain gardens are all infrastructures designed to reduce rainwater runoff. Lastly, parks also mitigate rainwater runoff and are a beautiful space that communities can enjoy.

Some of the benefits of green infrastructure include improving water and air quality. With additional green space in cities, less rainwater is contaminated due to runoff, and green space can help sequester CO2. Green space also helps to reduce the risk of flooding and better manages rainwater. Green infrastructure can also help cities become more resilient to climate change. Incorporating green infrastructure elements reduces heat island effects in cities and helps to keep them cool during extreme heat waves. Sewer infrastructure costs can also be decreased with green infrastructure implementation, because the volume of runoff entering the sewage system is reduced. The lifetime of sewage systems is therefore increased, and less maintenance is required. Lastly, green infrastructure can help improve the mental and physical health of communities, by creating an inviting open green space for exercise and enjoyment.

Reference:

“Green Infrastructure, Sustainably Managing our Rainwater,” City of Vancouver: https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/green-infrastructure.aspx

November 27, 2018November 28, 2018

Adapting to Climate Change: Flexibility in Resilient Cities

With pressures of climate change becoming a major global issue, the idea of resilient cities has become somewhat of a buzzword. I would like to focus on one overarching theme in resilient city literature and solutions: flexibility. 100 Resilient Cities defines urban resilience as “the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.” This is achieved “By strengthening the underlying fabric of a city and better understanding the potential shocks and stresses it may face.”

Change is inevitable, so our cities must be able to absorb impacts, react and adapt accordingly. However, infrastructure is usually something seen as permanent and lasting (de Haan). In mechanics, one learns that brittle fracture is much more dangerous than ductile fracture. It acts as a warning of the damage to come, and can absorb more energy prior to fracture, resulting in a stronger and more resilient structure. Why not apply this at a city scale?

In general, flexibility means the possibility to introduce certain options with the assumption of changing configuration of system parameters or system components in time (Kośmieja and Pasławski). De Haan points out that “the complexity of, especially nowadays, infrastructure systems suggests that we step away from attempts to control circumstances and prepare for their consequences.” My interpretation of flexible infrastructure lies in understanding that there are different possible outcomes and acknowledging that cites (and environments) change.

Flexibility can come in different scales. For example, buildings can be designed to be more seismically sound by including literal flexible materials within them, such as timber. This can be seen in Tūranga, the new central library in Christchurch, New Zealand, designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen of Denmark. The building includes a “seismic force-resisting system [that] is made up of a series of massive concrete walls that can rock and shift to isolate the building from peak accelerations during an earthquake.” Along with the use of pre-tensioned steel cables that stretch and flex, allowing the building to right-itself in the event of swaying, this structure is virtually earthquake-proof.

At a larger scale, the Østerbro neighbourhood of Copenhagen is a resilient neighbourhood that incorporates flexibility in rainfall systems. Due to climate change, Copenhagen has dealt with increasing levels of high-intensity rainfall that original systems could not cope with. In the creating of resilient infrastructure, these increased rainwater levels were seen as an opportunity, rather than an issue that needed to be removed. As the old rainwater management systems could not be changed (an example of the rigidity of non-resilient infrastructure), and due to minimal space restrictions, new innovations needed to be implemented locally and in tandem with increases in public green spaces. For example, in Tåsinge Plads, a square in the community, rainwater is diverted away from roofs and squares to keep the water out of sewers, while the storm water is collected in green urban areas to support the incorporation of wild urban nature in the community. In the few paved areas, ‘water parasols’ were created for children as play elements, that double as catchment basins that pump water through small channels to green spots (these are the inverted umbrella-like black structures in the image below). Here, it is important to see that flexibility is not just physical, it is a mindset – and one must bring a systems thinking approach to planning for flexibility.

One of my favourite examples of resilient infrastructure can be seen in Rotterdam. Similar water issues are being dealt with here, where water squares have been created to act as social spaces, but in the event of flooding, can also hold excess water. The flexibility in this site is clear, with multiple functions that addresses urban social living along with sustainable solutions simply, without the need for any advanced technical solutions or materials.

Urban resiliency is a buzzword for a reason: it is vital that cities address issues of our changing environments immediately, as well as do what is possible to prevent further global environmental degradation. A key component to this change is to introduce flexibility in approaching problems and at different scales. The Anthropocene is upon us, human activity is indeed the strongest geo-technical force at this moment, but why not try and make this impact a positive one?

OTHER RESOURCES

Maria Kośmieja, Jerzy Pasławski – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.10.013

de Haan – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2011.06.001

http://www.rotterdamclimateinitiative.nl/documents/2015- enouder/Documenten/20121210_RAS_EN_lr_versie_4.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016328711001352

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-49730-3.pdf

https://www.curbed.com/2018/5/11/17346550/organic-architecture-infrastructure-green-design

https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2017/12/01/resilient-cities

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/11986

https://www.resilientcity.org/index.cfm?id=11900

https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/CER/article/viewFile/38207/39282

http://www.100resilientcities.org/resources/

October 16, 2018December 1, 2018

LEED: Not just for Residential and Commercial Infrastructure

It may be commonly thought that LEED standards and ratings can be applied exclusively to residential and commercial buildings. As the first LEED Platinum certified sports arena in the world, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta Georgia has proven that large scale sports infrastructure can also meet LEED standards. The arena scored the highest LEED ranking for sports venues in North America, meeting 88 of the 110 LEED rating criteria.

Under LEED criteria, large scale infrastructure projects are judged in the same manner as other infrastructure. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium was judged on seven categories:

Sustainable Sites
Water Efficiency
Energy & Atmosphere
Material & Resources
Indoor Environmental Quality
Innovation
Regional Priority Credits

Its Platinum ranking can be attributed to the many sustainable factors that were implemented into its design.

Renewable and efficient energy use through the implementation of LED lighting within the stadium and 4000 solar panels producing energy;
Infrastructure for alternative modes of transportation including biking, electric cars, and public transit;
Rainwater harvesting and flood-controlling infrastructure that can hold 2 million gallons of water;
Community partnerships with organizations to share and reuse captured rainwater for tree irrigation;
Partnerships with local organizations to promote local food production and education;
Green space for parking and cultural events.

The arena is expected to see long-term benefits and savings in both energy use and water consumption due to its sustainable infrastructure, programs, and design. Not only will the building itself benefit, the design’s larger-scale vision benefits the surrounding community through the community programs that have been established to promote health and economic well-being, and from its advanced stormwater management system, which was awarded full points in the LEED certification, that will aid in protecting the surrounding flood prone community.

The Mercedes-Benz stadium can be considered a leader in design and innovation for large-scale sports infrastructure and demonstrates to other sports developments that implementation of sustainable and responsible design and construction is something that can be done for any venue, no matter its purpose, size or scale.

Sources

Atlanta Falcons’ Stadium Scores Top Marks for Sustainability. (2018). Retrieved October 16, 2018, from http://plus.usgbc.org/mercedes-benz-stadium/

H. (2017, November 15). Mercedes-Benz Stadium Becomes North America’s First LEED Platinum Professional Sports Stadium. Retrieved October 16, 2018, from https://www.hok.com/about/news/2017/11/15/mercedes-benz-stadium-becomes-first-professional-sports-stadium-to-receive-leed-platinum-certification/

LEED BD C: New Construction v3 – LEED 2009 Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2018, from https://www.usgbc.org/projects/mercedesbenz-stadium

Sitz, M. (2017, December 20). Green and LEED-Certified Stadium Design. Retrieved October 16, 2018, from https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13163-green-and-leed-certified-stadium-design

February 1, 2018

Healthy Environments in The Netherlands

Posted by Michael Veerman, February 1, 2018

During the summer of 2017, I was part of a Sustainable Community Systems: Netherlands program. The program focused on the principles, practice, and policy for sustainable planning and design of land use and transportation systems, with Canadian and international perspectives.

Within the first week of being exposed to the country, it became clear that Dutch urban infrastructure holds an abundance of sustainability design features. The video below outlines the country’s outstanding achievements in the following categories and how it compares to Vancouver and other places.

Abundance of Public Transportation Services
Protected Bicycle Path Infrastructure
Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
Public Spaces
Green Spaces
Noise Reduction
Renewable Energy Infrastructure
Government Leadership

September 28, 2017

Public-Private-Partnership

Quick Review about PPP in Green Infrastructure:

As mentioned in this week’s BRISTOL case study. To build the green infrastructure, especially for the very large city-wide green infrastructure projects, PPP (Public-Private-Partnership) is a very commonly used arrangement nowadays. There are many types of PPP arrangements, such as BT (Build-Transfer), TOT (Transfer-Operate-Transfer), BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) etc.

Generally speaking, PPP is a cooperative arrangement between the government and private companies on the construction of city infrastructures. All sectors will sign the contract to clear the rights and obligations to ensure the infrastructure completed successfully, and achieve the final results that could not be obtained by unilateral actions. All risks and profits will be shared. The PPP cooperation could not only be limited in the national level, but it could also be the worldwide cooperation, for example, there are many green infrastructure projects participated by a couple of countries’ governments and private funds by using PPP arrangement in Asian. I made the following picture to show you the relationship among key players and their functions.

Figure 1. Relationship and functions of key players

SWOT Analysis on PPP:

SWOT model can be applied to analyze the PPP arrangement, and identify how PPP is related to green infrastructure.

Strength:

The PPP is just started and green infrastructure market is very flexibly demand-orientated, the private companies could adapt to the market easily. The government usually has large financial pressure on high-cost green infrastructure projects, so that they introduce the private sectors to help the construction, and authorize the private sectors with the operation rights to generate profits. As the partner of the government, the private sectors could have less financing difficulties with a bank or other institutions. Private companies can use more advanced skills to manage the resources efficiently compared with the government, and they have more new planning ideas and practical patent technologies about green infrastructure. PPP is a win-win arrangement.

Weakness:

Compared to the government, private sectors have less bargain power and less risk affordability. PPP projects usually have longer negotiation period because of different concerns for different sectors. The negotiation cost would be a large portion of the total green infrastructure cost.

Opportunity:

Because PPP is a really fresh innovation and green infrastructure is a long-term plan, the market demand is still very huge. As PPP is win-win for both sectors, PPP arrangement gets supported and develops very fast, for example, PPP fund and projects have grown to 244 Billion US Dollars just in half a year period from 2016 December to 2017 June in China. For Green Infrastructure and relevant industry, PPP will become the first choice. Our Civil Students should be equipped with PPP knowledge, and it will also be our opportunity to achieve something in this field.

Threaten:

For high-tech green infrastructure plans and new sustainable ideas, the complex government examine and approval processes could depress some private companies, which means we would loss many opportunities to show our capabilities. The relevant laws and regulations are not well-established, which could affect our work in the near future. Another important point is from the public views, because the public opinions could make a big difference on green infrastructure decisions.

If you like this post, or you think it is helpful somehow, please up-vote. I would like to discuss and share more ideas about PPP with you.

Reference:

Retrieved September 22, 2017, from http://www.bridata.com/front/index

Retrieved September 22, 2017, from http://www.zeidei.com/article/1526895.html

September 28, 2017

Issues Surrounding Scientific Research of Green Infrastructure (GI)

Our education at UBC has an intentionally fragmented setup which might make it challenging for us to see the interconnections between the various fields of Civil Engineering, and the opportunities available for us, as Engineers to optimize the systems for an ecological and human benefit. Green Infrastructure is one of the primary topics covered in CIVL 498A. It is a very broad concept spanning various fields of Civil Engineering from Transportation, to Structural Engineering, to Stormwater Control. Various components of GI are shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Visible Benefits of Green Infrastructure

This blog post summarises the issues surrounding scientific research of Green Infrastructure (GI), as covered in detail here. It is meant to be a compliment to the article, and I highly recommend reading the article in its entirety. The following are the challenges in studying GI from a research perspective.

· GI features and/or elements

GI encompasses a wide variety of areas from ponds, to green roofs to bee hives (as shown in Figure 2). Monitoring the effects of these GI elements is difficult, if not impossible. GI elements such as green roofs are easier to study and monitor, and hence, garner more attention.

· Cost and benefits of GI

Costs are divided between the Financial costs & Opportunity costs. The resources used on constructing the GI elements are considered Financial costs. The benefit that would be obtained from those resources spent elsewhere would be considered the Opportunity cost. GI is most effective when thought of while improvements in present infrastructure are being made. For example, incorporating wildlife corridors when overhauling a highway system.

Benefits of GI are more qualitative than quantitative. Some indicators of GI benefits are: the quality of green spaces, the amount of sequestered carbon, the increase in employment after GI implementation. Figure 3 below attempts to describe the qualitative values of GI.

· Evaluating GI

The main goal of GI is the protection of ecological functions while simultaneously benefiting humans. When a GI element does not provide one of the two, or favors one over the other, that is an indicator of a poorly designed GI element. Policy, guidelines and standards are needed before any serious evaluation of GI can be undertaken.

· Multi-level evaluation

Since GI can be of different scales, it might be more effective to take a Systems Thinking approach. Additionally, analyzing not just the GI alone, but the institutions that manage (government agencies, etc) and use (transportation agencies, etc) these systems should be undertaken.

Conclusion

I believe that bringing to light the challenges in studying GI will lead to development of qualitative as well as quantitative methods of measuring GI impacts. As future Engineers, by knowing these challenges, we might be able to better justify implementing GI in our projects when posed with questions about their benefits.

References:

Index of Ecological Importance

T O P I C O V E R V I E W

This week I decided to read a selection of the book “Sustainable Infrastructure : The Guide to Green Engineering and Design” by S. Bry Sarte. This reading investigated applications of sustainable infrastructure and explored several case studies in order to demonstrate these applications. I found the case study of development on Isla Pedro Gonzalez (known locally as Pearl Island) in the Gulf of Panama to be particularly interesting. As the book discusses, islands make great examples for sustainability case studies as it is easy to see and appreciate that resources are limited, and to define the system boundaries. One can clearly observe the effort required to transport resources to and from the island, and see the trash piling up on the island’s beaches and in surrounding waters.

Pearl Island is unique in that a master plan for development on the island was developed by a team of local residents and stakeholders, engineers, ecologists, architects, and community planners prior to significant human habitation, development, and use. This allowed the island to be developed sustainably from the ground up with all environmental factors considered, without having to modify an existing poorly developed site. Many interesting and useful design strategies were employed in throughout the development of the master plan and are discussed at length in the book. However, I found the idea of an “Index of Ecological Importance” particularly intriguing.

capture2

Figure 1: Looking out towards Isla Pedro Gonzalez (Pearl Island) in the Gulf of Panama

The index of ecological importance is a design approach developed as a starting point for understanding the relative value of the green infrastructure system on a project site. The intent of the index is to provide an overview of these conditions and opportunities, identify areas which are most critical (no development allowed) and critical (employ environmentally responsive design techniques), and to establish a framework for biological connectivity between these areas and the surrounding area. Once developed, the index is then used to inform all other development plans, and as a general guide through the master planning process – focusing development with greater impact away from critical habitats, and ecologically sensitive areas. In order to ensure they achieved the most accurate model possible, as the project team for Pearl Island’s understanding of the island’s ecosystems improved, the index was continually updated and re-evaluated. Looking forward to future projects, I think this list could be expanded to include areas which provide ecosystem services in order to minimize their loss through to human development and preserve critical ecosystem functions.

In order to develop an index of ecological importance, a decision matrix is created which assigns relative value to specific known physical and ecological conditions on the island (or any subject area). Ecological data such as slope analysis (to asses the impact of deforestation on slope stability and resulting dirty surface runoff into surrounding bodies of water), a vegetation survey, existing development, waterways, and mapping of critical bird and wildlife habitats can be included as the analysed data sets. This sets of data are then weighted by relative importance and layered to for a single map of ecological importance for the subject area. This transformation of the environmental data and relative comparison of ecological importance into a physical space can be used to inform decisions regarding the impact and placement of buildings, infrastructure, and other development. An example of this map or index of ecological importance for Pearl Island can be seen below. capture

Figure 2: Index of Ecological Importance on Pearl Island. Darker areas are most critical.

S U G G E S T E D A S S I G N M E N T

In order for students to learn about the concept Indices of Ecological Importance an assignment such as the following could be completed.

Part One: Reading

Students would be asked to complete a reading on Indices of Ecological Importance. Pages 300-302 of S. Bry Sarte’s Sustainable Infrastructure : The Guide to Green Engineering and Design would be appropriate.

Part Two: Questions

Students would be asked to complete the following questions:

In your own words, summarize the concept of Indices of Ecological Importance in a few sentences.
What are some of the benefits of this approach?
For which types of projects would this approach be most appropriate?
Are there projects where this approach would not be appropriate? Explain.
Name at least two ways in which this design approach could be improved.

Part Three: Create an Index of Ecological Importance

Students would be given a sample area and development project for which to create an Index of Ecological Importance. A map of the area would be provided. Students would be expected to come up with a list of at least ecological conditions or data sets, and then create a decision matrix to weigh the relative values of these criteria. Finally, students would be asked to create a rough map of the ecological importance of the site based on their decision matrix and the map provided.

R E F E R E N C E S

Sarte, S. B., Mr. (2010). Sustainable Infrastructure: The Guide to Green Engineering and Design. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

September 21, 2016

Creating and Managing Green Spaces

LEED Neighbourhood Developments emphasize the practice of LEED on a larger scale (see video below for an example from Tampa, FL). These neighbourhoods are able to provide a connection to both natural ecosystems and human ecosystems by creating and incorporating urbanism, green building and smart growth.

The benefit of these developments is that they create communities focused on reducing green house gas emissions for an overall larger environmental goal as “buildings generate up to 35 per cent of all greenhouse gases, 35 per cent of landfill waste comes from construction and demolition activities, and 70 per cent of municipal water is consumed in and around buildings” (Canada Green Building Council, 2016).

Sources

Canada Green Building Council (September 20, 2016). Going Green with LEED. Retrieved from http://www.cagbc.org/CAGBC/LEED/GoingGreenLEED/CAGBC/Programs/LEED/Going_green_with_LEE.aspx?hkey=01b3d086-d0a4-42cf-9e61-7830d801c019