The Green Infrastructure Toolkit lists 25 actions local governments can take to transform crusty, impermeable urban landscapes into vibrant, spongy ecosystems that preserve water as a resource and protect against its potential destruction in floods.
Every community is faced with managing the potential impacts of extreme weather events, especially in an era in which those events are increasing in both frequency and intensity. To prepare for the challenges ahead, neighborhoods, towns, and regions need proven strategies for not just surviving threats, but for assuring long-term resilience. And key goals for those strategies should include approaches that preserve and leverage natural systems of protection.
In honor of World Water Day 2023 today, Hazel Borys and co-authors Kaid Benfield, Scott Bernstein, Paul Crabtree, Bruce Donnelly, Scott Doyon, Susan Henderson, Steve Mouzon, Milt Rhodes, and Colleen Sklar launched the Green Infrastructure Toolkit, which contains strategies for preserving protective ecosystems, addressing urban heat islands, and building resilience into long-term planning.
Borys says, "We’re excited to see the positive impact that green infrastructure can have on our communities. By working together and sharing our experiences, we can make a lasting difference for future generations. Let’s get spongy!"
FULL STORY: Green Infrastructure: Let’s get spongy!
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Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
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