John Gibbons

Bioretention is a technique that can be used in nearly any environment, including brownfields, as a water quality control. This may be getting too technical for your project, but depending on the amount of on-site contamination, I would recommend that you wrap all of your stormwater BMPs with an impermeable membrane to help control the spread of…[Read more]

i am a landscape architecture student working on my senior project, which is a brownfield site ( old glass manufacture), and curious to see if any one had unique design, mitigation techniques and or a case study i should look in to.

I am currently working on my senior cap stone B.S. – LA project , which is a brownfield site ( old glass manufacture). I was curious to see if any one had any unique mitigation techniques or could refer me to a few good case studies.

Larry these look to be very helpful examples of how other municipalities are implementing these strategies. Good case studies. Thanks for sharing.

you might want to check out this useful doc put out by the epa. its a lot of portland stuff but much more.. Larry Shaeffer
and add to greenstreets links list

link to Municipal Handbook Green Infrastructure
http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/munichandbook.cfm

Green Infrastructure Municipal Handbook

The Municipal Handbook is a series…[Read more]

So what’s the news at Purdue these days?

Well I’ll be honest, I’m very jealous of what you are able to get approved out on the west coast. As of now we seem to be a bit behind the curve but we’re trying to at least catch up with you.

The majority of our office work is around the Washington D.C. metropolitan area (including northern VA and Maryland) and each municipality seems to be at…[Read more]

Well in Australia they use a broader term Water Sensitive Urban Design, as opposed to LID, which refers to 3 areas of water management (Potable Water, Waste Water and Stormwater) and how my effecting one of these you have the potential to effect the others. For instance, by reusing stormwater to irrigate landscape or flush toilets, we also reduce…[Read more]

Philip – that sounds really awesome! I’m looking forward to hearing what was shared, not only from a green streets perspective but would love to hear all about what you are doing in Australia with regards to water design.

Hi everyone. My name is PJ Benenati and I ‘m with EDAW in Alexandria, VA. I look forward to talking with you all and sharing ideas.

Our offices in Australia have been incorporating LID into the landscape for some time now. An environmental firm, called Ecological Engineering, joined with EDAW nearly 4 years ago and is now working mainly out of…[Read more]

i would research xeriscape plants – there are a bunch of native drought tolerant grasses and sedge that could work – Festuca glauca, Muhlenbergia c. …Also some hardy vines like Wisteria or Honeysuckle or Grape – Sedum, Yucca and Agave of course…and you realize this as you mention succulents…Rosemary var., Erigeron, Gaura, Salvia varieties…[Read more]

No rush, best of luck on the exam.

interesting topic and love your take/enthusiasm regarding japanese design. I can’t really comment on the lack of japanese LA’s but I feel japanese landscape design lives through many designers. I live in miami, florida. and the manufactured naturalistic approach as seen through japanese designs compliments our native landscape well and I see…[Read more]

So interested in constructed wetlands as a ecological system and a landscape element. Any with experience care to share? Finally, any opinion as to its feasibility in arid-desert locations (MTE’s or more severe climes)?

Oh yeah. My blurred vision is starting to clear up! Thanks very much. Keep ’em coming.

Thanks Loe, very flattered.
I think it’s something to do with our approach to empty space. We have experienced shortage of flat land from the beginning. So, finding flat and open land was the first step. Some could find a plot in a ‘urban’ site (in medieval term) which is small and cluttered by neighbours, the others found a small plot on mountain…[Read more]

Hi Yuko. I am always enthralled by good japanese design and always wonder why such simplicity in design is so difficult to master. I hope to find some answers in this group.

Nice to meet y’all.

Here’s an example of the political aspect of planning and landscape architecture:

Nrschmid:
“However, some of them [landscape architects] struggle to find the underlying meaning in the ordinances and what has been established by plan commissions as precedent. For example, one community’s ordinance might allow Betula nigra (River birch) but the r…[Read more]

Check out Jason’s review on Patrick Blanc’s new book The Vertical Garden.

And I have to agree, it is indeed quite fabulous and I am not at all disappointed. If nothing else, it is worth it to see the pictures of Mr. Blanc himself perched over a waterfall with his green hair.

Zoning is way to control activities, which is important for a city. But as we all know cities are dynamic, some people even suggest that the city is a living organisim. froming this point of view, “zoing” should work in different ways comparing with exisiting and conventional “zoning” practices.
I think “zoning” is also a tool for the authority to…[Read more]