IMAGINE THE FUTURE OF PARKS + RECREATION

Transcription

1 VAN PLAY SMART CITY TALKS Melina Scholefield, P. Eng, Manager, Green Infrastructure City of Vancouver Steven Apfelbaum Senior Ecologist, Founder & Chairman of Applied Ecological Services Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land (Island Press) 6:30 pm TODAY Robson Square IMAGINE THE FUTURE OF PARKS + RECREATION VANPLAY SMART CITY TALKS SEPTEMBER 20 COMMUNITY+VISION OCTOBER 3 SPACE+EQUITY OCTOBER 17 ECOLOGY+NATURE NOVEMBER 1 CELEBRATION+DIVERSITY NOVEMBER 15 RESILIENCE+WELLBEING ALL TALKS BEGIN 6:30 PM AT UBC ROBSON SQUARE TICKETS AT URBANARIUM.ORG

2 LARC 444/ 553 Green Network Planning GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

3 GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE TODAY: Urban impacts: air, water, habitat Define green infrastructure Examples from other cities New York Toronto Portland GI Principles Vancouver s IRMP

4 PROJECT 2 PART 1 READ THE BLOG! notices and some new materials posted periodically complete 98% of Part 1 by Oct 26 read Project 2 Part 2! not all the data you need is available as GIS data providedteams need to create some data i.e. green v gray- create data QUESTIONS??

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6 ROAD, TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS IMPACTS of road infrastructure and transportation sector: GHG emissions + climate change air pollution- particulates water pollution noise broad ecosystem impacts to waterways > 25% of land area of cities is road infrastructure habitat fragmentation US Environmental Protection Agency

7 AIR and CLIMATE CHANGE Human activity contributes about ~ 8 billion tonnes of carbon to the global carbon cycle every year Cities are end users of ~80% of US energy Most analysis showscities are the most significant cause of global warming. The Vulcan Project, Purdue University

8 METRO VANCOUVER EMISSIONS BY SECTOR

9 WATER/HYDROLOGY Lost streams of Vancouver

10 WATER <10% runoff >90% runoff Green Streets, Portland Metro

11 WATER: CONVENTIONAL URBAN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT NATURAL URBANIZED HYDROLOGY Keep the city dry at all costs! Get the water out of town! stormwater = waste

12 WATER PAVED SURFACES AND PIPED RUNOFF: Disrupts natural hydrology Damages stream structure and aquatic habitat Sends polluted water to streams, lakes, rivers Seals water out of the ground, drying up groundwater cleanwatercampaign.org

13 WATER & STREETS ~25% total urban land area 50% total impervious surfaces 50% total urban runoff 65% total urban (water) pollutants Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Typical urban pollutants: Suspended solids Cadmium Phosphorous Copper Nitrogen Lead Fecal coliform Zinc E. Coli Chlorides Hydrocarbons Insecticides Herbicides

14 RAINWATER NOT STORMWATER! A paradigm shift: from managing STORMwater to managing RAINwater interdisciplinary ecosystem oriented water as a resource

15 HABITAT

16 HABITAT IMPACTS

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18 HABITAT IMPACTS habitat loss habitat fragmentation habitat quality

19 WHAT IS GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE?

20 THESIS GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE the goal is the creation of new landscapes that produce healthy lifesystems, not merely to remedy urban malfunctions... Urban development that becomes a participant in the workings of natural systems... Michael Hough

21 GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE: Multiple meanings Green spaces as infrastructure? OR Greening gray infrastructure? OR The urban forest?

22 INFRASTRUCTURE = the system of public works of a [city] Miriam Webster i.e. transportation networks, water supply, sewage treatment, power networks- gray infrastructure Austin: foundational systems of a city/ connected by a network GREEN = systems that provide ecosystem services all urban vegetation, and functioning natural hydrology

23 1) Green spaces as GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE 2002 Benedict and McMahon When nature is harnessed by people and used as an infrastructural system it is called green infrastructure 1) green spaces perform ecosystem services

24 2) Greening the GRAY INFRASTRUCTURE by greening our gray infrastructure (buildings, roads, bridges, pipelines, etc.) effectively softening the lines between the human-made and natural environments we can create urban systems that serve human needs and protect and restore environmental quality. Crown Street, Vancouver Steve Nicholas, City of Seattle Office of Sustainability SW 12th Street, Portland OR

25 3) GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE performs ecosystem functions Green infrastructure [strategies] infiltrate, evapotranspire, capture and reuse rainwater...to maintain or restore natural hydrologies. green infrastructure practices include rain gardens, porous pavements, green roofs, infiltration planters, tree [planting] and rainwater harvesting US Environmental Protection Agency Crown Street, Vancouver

26 4) GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE provides ecosystem services a continuous network of corridors and spaces, planned and managed to sustain healthy ecosystem functions to generate human benefits i.e. ecosystem services NECESSARY: connectivity multiple functions

27 Is the urban forest part of green infrastructure?

28 4) URBAN FORESTS: PART OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE Canadian Urban Forest Strategy Our vision for Canadian towns and is a canopy of trees, sheltering and protec@ng our communi@es; part of a green infrastructure that promotes healthy air, clean water, habitat, quality of life and economic prosperity. Canadian Urban Forest Network and Tree Canada

29 4) URBAN FORESTS: PART OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE US EPA- [Urban] trees in the public right-of-way and are a key part of public green infrastructure in many cities. US National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council Urban forests, through planned connec@ons of green spaces, form the green infrastructure on which communi@es depend.

30 4) URBAN FORESTS: PART OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ASLA on Green Infrastructure: Cities Green infrastructure covers everything from parks to street trees and green roofs to bioswales -- really anything that helps absorb, delay, and treat stormwater, flooding and downstream CiGes have forests, too, which are an important component of urban green infrastructure systems.

31 A PROPOSED DEFINITION OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE: An interconnected system of urban green spaces that provide multiple ecosystem services Green infrastructure mimics nature and performs ecosystem functions. W. Morrish 1993, Summary Report

32 GREEN NETWORKS GREEN FABRIC primarily public patches and networks of urban green URBAN FOREST public and private urban greenery GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE designed/managed to provide ecosystem services

33 EXAMPLES OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE Toronto New York City Portland Calgary NYC Queen s Plaza Urban Green Machine Slivers of green, patchwork gardens, and strips of water retention, all working within restructured patterns of movement, will reinvent the site, providing layers of vegetation to clean air and stormwater and mitigate noise pollution.

34 TORONTO: URBAN FOREST GTA ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVERS: Better air quality Reduced greenhouse gas emissions Mitigate urban heat island Greater energy efficiency Improved water quality and water efficiency Protection of the urban forest and wildlife habitat

35 TORONTO: URBAN FOREST GOALS: Increase canopy cover Achieve equitable Increase biodiversity Increase awareness Promote stewardship Improve monitoring Canopy cover target: Current cover = 26.6% Target = 40% Improve tree growing conditions! Source: Joe D Abramo, City of Toronto

36 NEW YORK CITY: High Performance Streets High performance streets: green infrastructure + Integrating multiple functions photo by Metropolitan Engineering

37 NEW YORK CITY: High Performance Streets Multifunctional streets/landscapes

38 NEW YORK CITY: Green Streets Program Concrete street islands + medians Parklets + greenspace Department of Transportation + Department of Parks and Recreation Duane Street, Manhattan Traffic triangle conversion

39 NEW YORK CITY: Million Trees NYC 1 million trees planted NYC popula@on 2016= 8.5 million 10,892 people/km2

40 PORTLAND GREEN STREETS 2002 Green Streets: for stormwater and stream crossings, Metro Portland

41 PORTLAND GREEN STREETS SMALL RAIN GARDENS- collect and filter street runoff protect and improve the grey infrastructure prevent sewer combined sewer overflows (CSOs) increase urban green space improve air quality replenish groundwater reduce air temperature. NE Siskiyou Green Street

42 PORTLAND GREEN STREETS

43 SW 12TH AVENUE PORTLAND drains 7500 sq street reduces peak flow from 25 yr rain event by 70%

44 SW MONTGOMERY STREET, PORTLAND Nevue Ngan Landscape Architects, Portland 2012 ASLA Award

45 SW MONTGOMERY STREET, PORTLAND

46 SW MONTGOMERY STREET, PORTLAND

47 CALGARY GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE Principles and strategies for applying green infrastructure to streets and roads

48 PLAN IT CALGARY Proposed road and street types MOBILITY CORRODORS Through road Connector street Urban boulevard Neighbourhood boulevard Parkway Industrial street (Residential streets not included)

49 GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PRINCIPLES AIR Mitigate climate change WATER Mimic natural hydrology HABITAT Enhance urban biodiversity

50 PRINCIPLES & STRATEGIES AIR: Mitigate greenhouse gas emissions Accommodate walking and cycling Enhance the urban forest Reduce energy demand WATER: Mimic natural hydrology Maximize on-site infiltration Reduce effective impervious area Slow and detain runoff Filter road runoff Balance water demand with rainfall HABITAT: Enhance urban biodiversity Preserve, enhance biodiversity Increase habitat connectivity Increase the urban tree canopy Vegetated swales Infiltration planters Infiltration galleries Narrower paved areas Pervious pavements Curb openings Flow-through planters Rain gardens Interception gardens Filter strips Biofiltration swales Stormwater wetlands Xeriscaping

51 AIR: Enhance the urban forest Maximize tree canopy cover: Expand the urban forest Create optimum growth conditions Calgary: Tree canopy cover = 7% (DATE) 7 million trees Elbow Drive- recently renovated

52 WATER: Mimic natural hydrology Reduce effective impervious area Maximize infiltration Bio-filtration areas in street bulb-outs Pennoyer Street, Portland OR

53 WATER: Mimic natural hydrology Filter runoff Detain & infiltrate runoff Rain garden, Convention Centre, Portland

54 HABITAT: Enhance urban biodiversity Use native vegetation TOP: Alex Ferguson Elementary School, Calgary BOTTOM: Mountain Equipment Coop, Calgary

55 HABITAT: Enhance urban biodiversity Re-create wetland areas Top: Tanner Springs Park, Portland Elizabeth Carruthers Park, Portland

56 HABITAT: Enhance urban biodiversity Increase habitat connectivity Bridge over streams

57 GRAY can be GREEN Gray infrastructure can perform ecosystem functions...can provide environmental services...while also accommodating pedestrians, bicycles, vehicles...and being beautiful Carroll Street Greenway, Vancouver

58 VANCOUVER RAINWATER PLAN GOALS: 1. Treat Vancouver s abundant rainwater as a resource 2. Reduce the demand for potable water by encouraging beneficial reuse 3. Restore the role of urban watersheds to support urban and natural ecosystems and provide clean water City of Vancouver Integrated Rainwater Management Plan THURSDAY: Guest: Cameron Owen CoV Green Infrastructure team

59 GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE An interconnected system of urban green spaces that provide ecosystem services Green infrastructure mimics nature and performs ecosystem functions.

60 QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? + remember- READ THE BLOG!