Comment

Comment by Oona Gaberšek on January 25, 2012 at 9:20am

I am interested in some LID continuing education resources (books, classes, conferences, etc).  Any recommendations?

Comment by Allegra Bukojemsky on March 9, 2011 at 12:44pm

ASLA -  EPA Survey for Stormwater Projects - Survey responses are needed by March 31st.

ASLA is working to gather 300 green infrastructure case studies to submit to EPA, to aid in their rulemaking related to green infrastructure for stormwater management.  Please submit information on stormwater management projects from your firm/organization by filling out the green infrastructure project survey

 

Your response to this survey is very important to every landscape architect and provides you an opportunity to showcase some of your own work. Here is the link to the recent Land Online for more information. It really doesn’t take too much of your time and your effort will be very much appreciated by ASLA, the EPA and many of your fellow members. Choose any topic you like, permeable paving, slope stabalization, water quality improvements etc.

 

Original post by Hunter Beckham at http://sustainableppn.asla.org/

Comment by Cole Slater on November 26, 2009 at 12:39pm

Well said Mark, our proffesion is so variable that it makes it easy for others to put us in a box on one side of it which I find to be simply 'lanscaping'. We need to work together as a profession to be "armed with facts and calculations" to give creditability to the profession across the board.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Comment by Mark O'Hara on November 25, 2009 at 7:41pm

This issue is complicated and to say that rain gardens are the answer is not much different than the traditional infrastructure approach, where one solution can solve all problems. In most instances and geographic locations, the solution needs to include water quality and quantity solutions to solve the problem. Rain gardens, bio-swales and previous paving can be used for water quality benefits and storage, regional detention and wetlands are needed to alleviate quantity issues. These are general ideas and need to be site and watershed specific.

If we have relegated any part of this system as unnecessary infrastructure we have already lost credibility with engineers, other designers and policy and decision makers.

I have been fortunate to have the ability to stick my nose into early conversations with engineers or to work on projects where we will drive the concepts and pass the drawings onto the engineers to stamp. This lets the engineers see that landscape architects can actually understand, design and detail holistic stormwater systems into the site, usually in a much more integrated and beautiful way too. This is not always the case and much like the whole system approach to design, landscape architects need to be talking to policy and decision makers (local, state and federal) to inform them of our profession to increase the credibility of the profession. The engineers have been doing this for years; we can always learn something from them!

If you are armed with facts, calculations, great imagery and graphics, the fight, as we call it, is much easier to win. Let’s not forget we will always need to work with our engineer friends on project teams and they do bring valuable expertise to the team. If we can get past titles and just work together to design incredible projects we will ultimately live in a better world.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Comment by Cole Slater on November 25, 2009 at 10:03am

Charles,

"Blame it on the Rain" - Milli Vanilli

Well, not really. I just wanted to quote them! Policy is a difficult thing. Until every land owner is charged by the city for the real cost of thier stormwater impacts from a pre development hydrology, there will be uncecesary systems put ini place.
The cool thing about rain gardens is that for unnecesary infrastructure, they look pretty cool. And up there, the vast majority provide legitimate detention/retention services. As I have recently moved home to Hawaii and we have a more NW type of rainfall pattern, I am looking forward to designing some beautiful systems.
Michelle, thanks for passing the link to us.

Comment by Charles A. Warsinske on November 25, 2009 at 8:54am

Cole

Good comments. It is annoying to listen to disciples of the "new" green movement who lack the understanding necessary to design facilities that actually work and can be maintained (sustained). Even here in the NW we have LID facilities being required in locations where they just will not work.

Comment by Cole Slater on November 24, 2009 at 11:40pm

Robin, not to be a sceptic: I have recently moved to hawaii though spent the last 5 years in the califonia working for a large engineering firm. It is difficult to get buy in from the engineers as the systems are simply not as functional there as they are in the NW. The reason for this is that the NW has rain year round whereas cali has no rain for most of the year then very large storms. As such, these systems often (not always) require supplemental irrigation to remain green all year. Moreover, in order to hold back a typical storm, they must be quite large.

Not looking to hold you back, just provide thier perspective. Good luck!

Comment by Lisa Port, APLD on November 24, 2009 at 2:06pm

....and a nicely planted raingarden, or artful rainwater catchment system usually looks better, provided it works correctly, than the typical curb and gutter system. I have found that the client is usally into this aspect of LID. In residential applications, is it wonderful if they take ownership of the process and work to make regulatory change in their affected areas.

Comment by Robin Pelensky on November 24, 2009 at 2:02pm

Thanks Ryan. I'm actually going to do just that on an infill project. I'll arm myself with the stats and share them with the team. Hopefully I'll have some good images to share with you soon.

Comment by Ryan Templeton on November 24, 2009 at 1:57pm

I have found that it is best to be part of the design process early on, integrating bmp and lid strategies into the program. Working with the engineers can often open up more opportunities and gain momentum to make green strategies more tangible to designers, since we can explain the simplicity and practicality of these strategies. In most cases, bmp and lid are as economical if not cheaper than the traditional storm water systems.

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