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Integrating Green Infrastructure into Regional Planning
2010 APA Conference
New Orleans, LAApril 12, 2010
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Speakers
• State of the Practice & Green Infrastructure Concepts• Don Kostelec, AICP; • Transpo Group, Asheville, NC
• Linking Lands & Communities in the Land-of-Sky Region• Linda Giltz, AICP; • Land-of-Sky Regional Council, Asheville
• Jacksonville Collector and Green Streets Plan• Don Kostelec substituting for Chris Lukasina
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Objectives
• Appreciate how a regional GI network/plan can be used and integrated with other regional and local plans and practices.
• Know state-of-the-practice techniques • Understand the value in assessing and identifying green
infrastructure at a regional, landscape scale.• Gain insight on what to consider if you want to
undertake similar projects.
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Being Green is Contextual• Not all things are as they
appear• Some bad may come as a
result of a lot of good• Elected officials don’t like
these types of tradeoffs & uncertainties
• Planners need to understand the good/bad and the tradeoffs to be effective
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Defining Green Infrastructure - Natural Environment
• Green Infrastructure is a region’s Natural Life Support System – an interconnected network of land and water that contributes to the health, economic well being & quality of life for communities & people.
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Defining Green Infrastructure - Natural Environment
• A GI Network may include:• Natural areas• Public and private conservation
lands• Farmlands and lands managed for
forestry• Outdoor recreation areas and trails• Cultural resources and sites
• GI networks exist at various scales (parcel, community, regional)
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Defining Green Infrastructure - Built Environment
• Green infrastructure is a way for municipalities, developers, engineers and planner to provide for urban infrastructure that supports and improves the region’s natural resources, including:• Land, Water, Forests,
Air, Etc.
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Defining Green Infrastructure - Built Environment
• A GI Network may include:• Reduced impervious structures• Stream buffer requirements• Stormwater management practices that treat
water at its source• Street design that promotes efficient
transportation (e.g. connectivity policies)• Provides for safe travel by pedestrians,
bicyclists and transit users.
• Again, GI networks exist at various scales (parcel, community, regional)
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Green Infrastructure Policies
• There is a direct correlation between land use patterns, the way a site is developed and environmental degradation. Well-planned growth using good site design and development practices can restore and prevent environmental degradation and enhance community character.
RI Department of Environmental Management
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Characteristics of Policy/Regulations
• Regulations are often developed with no research base.• Regulations are often developed as an emotional response to
some phenomena.• Regulations are often imposed by layers of cumbersome
structure.• Regulations have many benefits including protecting the
health, safety and general welfare of the public.
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• Regulations serve as a “bar” or standard for the regulator.
• Regulations often impose maximums.• Regulations often impose minimums (e.g. EPA,
federal).• Regulations that are vague sometimes allow
environmental initiatives
Characteristics of Policy/Regulations
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Impervious Surfaces
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Impervious Surfaces
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Typical Language in an Ordinance
•“All built-upon areas shall be designed and located to minimize stormwater runoff impacts to the receiving waters and minimize concentrated stormwater flow.”
• Ideal?
• Too vague?
• Too restrictive?
• Don’t know?
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Impacts of Stormwater• Urban stormwater
contributes to:• 13% of impaired rivers and
streams;• 21% of impaired lakes;• 46% of impaired estuaries;• 55% of impaired ocean
shorelines
Stormwater BMP Maintenance & Inspection
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Impacts of Stormwater
• Addressed through:• Controlling stormwater
runoff• Low impact
development techniques
• Green architectural techniques
• Green parking lots
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Low Impact Development
Conventional Development
• Minimize Land Clearing • Removal of most or all native vegetation
• Amended soils • Compacted soils
• Minimize use of impervious surfaces • Excessive use of impervious surfaces
• Provide for infiltration • Costly infrastructure
• Fit development to the natural hydrology
• Severely altered hyrdrology
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Street Connectivity as a Green Infrastructure practice
• Cities are looking at a host of transportation, land use, energy, environmental and sustainability policy issues and considering new measurement techniques:• Complete Streets Policy• Concurrency Program
Refinements• VMT and GHG per Capita
Reduction
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Background Policy Issues
• Multi-Modal Level-of-Service (LOS)
• Street Connectivity Policies Connectivity between new/existing
developed lands Non-motorized public accessways
and limiting cul-de-sacs Grid-based standards for streets
(500 feet ) and Non-motorized (330 feet) – emphasis on smaller block lengths
Developing connectivity metrics
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Systems Connectivity is ImportantMeasuring and quantifying system connectivity is essential to evaluating non-
motorized plans and central to addressing part of the climate change dilemma.
Improved street and non-motorized connectivity increases accessibility and route options and reduces VMT and GHG. Traffic congestion, accidents and pollution emissions are reduced while mobility for non-drivers is increased. Emergency response improves because emergency vehicles have more direct access with less the risk that an area will become inaccessible if a particular part of the street network is blocked.
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Systems Connectivity is ImportantRecent academic studies identified four land use and transportation factors
associated with walking and cycling, and the resulting reduction in VMT:
• Density: residential units within a specified area• Destinations: grocery stores, restaurant, retail, schools• Distance: to key destinations• Route: smaller blocks, better sidewalks
The optimization of routes in relations to these factors can help reduce VMT by as much as 35%, with similar reductions in vehicle energy consumption and emissions.
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Achieving VMT Capita Reduction
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0%
Ch
an
ge i
n P
ers
on
Mil
es T
ravell
ed
Residential Office Park Retail / Service
Land Density Land Use Diversity Design
DESIGNAverage Block Size
% 4-Way Intersections% Sidewalk Coverage- 4 %
- 2 %
- 5%
Measures of connectivity helps indicate transportation-efficient land uses that yield lower VMT and GHG per capita
Research conducted in Seattle area by C. Lee and Anne Moudon (University of Washington), 2006: Quantifying Land Use and Urban Form Correlates of Walking
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What is Route Directness Index?
straight-line distance “A”
BRDI = A / B
Aactual route distance “B”
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Route Directness Index
Using ViaCityTM
Before After Impacted Parcels
IntersectionDensity
Link-Node Ratio
55.9 56.0
0.58 0.62 1,115
N/A
1.09 1.10 N/A
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Example RDI - Existing Conditions
Shared-Use Path Connections
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Using RDI to Test New Project / Plan
Shared-Use Path Connections
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RDI is Sensitive to Critical Street Design
Shared-Use Path Connections
Sensitive to Block Length
Sensitive to Cul-de-Sac Length
305 ft 330ft
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Integrating Green Infrastructure into Regional Planning
2010 APA Conference
New Orleans, LAApril 12, 2010