green infrastructure for regional resilience
TRANSCRIPT
Green Infrastructure for Regional Resilience: The Role of America’s Forests
Partners in Community ForestryNovember 17, 2016
David Rouse, FAICP, ASLAAmerican Planning Association
ContentsDefinitions• Green Infrastructure• Resilience
Resilience and America’s Forests• Shocks and Stresses• Benefits and Risks
Planning for Regional Resilience
Green Infrastructure DefinitionsCity and Regional Open SpaceAn interconnected network of natural areas and other open spaces that conserves natural ecosystem values and functions, sustains clean area and water, and provides a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife.
Green Stormwater InfrastructureSystems and practices that use or mimic natural processes to infiltrate, evapotranspirate, or reuse stormwater on the site where it is generated.
Green Infrastructure ExamplesRegional Scale• Working farms and forests• Regional parks and nature preserves• River corridors and greenways
City Scale• Urban forest / tree canopy• Urban parks• Parkways and boulevards
Green Infrastructure ExamplesNeighborhood Scale• Local parks• Constructed wetlands• Green streets
Site / Building Scale• Stormwater planters• Rain gardens• Green roofs / living walls
Environmental• Air• Water• SoilEconomic• Real estate value• Retail / business• Energy conservation
Social• Public health• Public safety• Connection to nature
Green Infrastructure Co-Benefits• Climate• Wildlife
Production:• Food• Fiber
• Education• Aesthetics
Resilience is the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and successfully adapt to adverse events (National Academy of Sciences, 2012)
Resilience Definitions
Building community resilience encompasses the entire community, including its physical infrastructure, its economic and social capital, its natural environment, and its systems providing essential services (ICMA, 2011).
Resilience Definition:Rockefeller Foundation
• Shocks: acute natural & human-caused disasters• Stresses: chronic challenges to natural & human systems
Acute Shocks• Earthquakes• Coastal storms (winds, flooding)• Riverine flooding• Wildfire• Severe economic recessions
Chronic Stresses• Drought• Insect infestations• Urban heat island effect• Nuisance flooding• Poverty / inequality• Climate change
Shocks and Stresses
Benefits• Forest cover absorbs rainfall, reducing downstream
flooding• Trees intercept stormwater, reducing urban runoff• Co-benefits: water & air quality, climate moderation,
wildlife habitat, etc.
Risks• Climate change effects (extreme weather, sea level
rise)• Trees can become hazards during extreme weather
events• Development in floodprone areas creates /
compounds risk
Benefits and Risks: Flooding
Source: Donald Outen, from Planning the Urban Forest, PAS Report No. 555 (2010)
Regional Green Infrastructure and FloodingGreater Baltimore Wilderness Resilience Strategies:
• Natural Resource Protection
• Urban Forest Enhancement
• Multi-Benefit Green Stormwater Infrastructure
• Critical Infrastructure Protection
• Coastal Defense
Opportunities to Enhance and Restore Tree Canopy
Baltimore City
Source: The Conservation Fund
Benefits• Fire is a natural part of the forest ecosystem • Helps maintain forest health and diversity• Forest co-benefits: water & air quality, climate
moderation, wildlife habitat, etc.
Risks• Effects of fire suppression, climate change (heat,
drought)• Potential for cascading and interactive disasters• Development in the Wildland-Urban Interface
(WUI) creates/compounds risk
Benefits and Risks: Wildfire
Source: Pizzo & Associates, Ltd
Regional Green Infrastructure and Wildfire
Only 16% of the WUI in the west is developed.
Decisions by individuals and local communities have regional consequences.
How can we maximize forest benefits and minimize risk at the landscape scale?
National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy• Restore and maintain landscapes• Create fire-adapted communities• Effectively respond to wildfire
Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire • Manage Development in the WUI
Mapping of Wildfire Risk in Missoula, MT Source: Headwater Economics
Planning for Regional Resilience: All-Hazards Framework• Define / map hazard areas, green infrastructure
assets, and associated risks and benefits.
• Integrate hazards and green infrastructure into planning processes.
• Use community planning tools to minimize risks and maximize benefits.
• Coordinate action across scales: from site to community to region.
Define / map hazard areas, green infrastructure assets, and associated risks and benefits.
Wildfire Hazard Potential in the U.S.Source: U.S. Forest Service
Coastal Flood Frequency MapSource: NOAA’s Digital Coast Partnership
Ecological Asset Network Map, Wasatch Front Region, UT
Integrate hazards and green infrastructure into planning processes. Long-Range Comprehensive/ Land Use Plans
Functional Plans• Parks/Green Infrastructure Plans• Urban Forestry Plans• Hazard Mitigation Plans • Community Wildfire Protection
Plans
Area / Neighborhood Plans
Five Strategic Points of Intervention
1. Long-Range Community Visioning and Goal Setting
2. Plan-making3. Regulatory standards, policies, and
incentives4. Development work5. Public InvestmentSource: American Planning Association
Use community planning tools to minimize risks and maximize benefits.
• Regulations• Capital investments• Incentives
Five Strategic Points of Intervention
1. Long-Range Community Visioning and Goal Setting
2. Plan-making3. Regulatory standards, policies, and
incentives4. Development work5. Public InvestmentSource: American Planning Association
Regulations• Zoning and subdivision• Development standards
Incentives• Conservation development• Transfer of Development Rights
Public Investment• Land acquisition• Infrastructure investments• Other capital improvements
Coordinate actions across scales: from site to community to region.Site• Design / development standards• Homeowner disclosure / education
Community• Coordinate planning across jurisdictional
boundaries
Region• Set regional framework• Coordinate planning by local
jurisdictions• Regional planning agencies play key role
Region: Denver Water / USFS Partnership
Site: Portland Green Street
