What Is Green Infrastructure?
Defining Green Infrastructure
Green infrastructure uses water management processes that mimic the natural water cycle. These practices are implemented in a way that is effective and economical. These initiatives act to enhance community safety and quality of life.
Green Infrastructure focuses on restoration of natural processes and environments before the construction of anthropocentric facilities. GI practices seek to eliminate the source of water quality and quantity issues rather than mitigate the effects that they have. It means planting gardens to filter and uptake water; it means reducing runoff by retaining stormwater from your impervious roof; it means individual water consciousness, from reduced water use, to proper sewer connections, to private pipe maintenance.
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How Green Infrastructure Works
Green Infrastructure is a form of water management that mimics natural environmental systems using engineered projects, incorporating natural processes into management efforts. Water filtration by sand, plants, or wetland habitats not only helps to slow water, but also helps clean it. Green Infrastructure provides these and many other benefits to people and wildlife.
Pervious surfaces, rather than impervious pavements and roofs, allow water to slowly trickle down into the ground instead of flow across the top; this means more filtration of water before it reaches the Bay, as nature would have it. Retention practices act to reduce the flow of water directly from large impervious surfaces; this means slower transfer of water into the system. Interception, uptake, and storage of falling water by plants (via leaves, roots, and growth respectively) also naturally reduces the flow of water.
Benefits of Green Infrastructure
Benefits of Green infrastructure range from psychological, to monetary, to environmental, to socioeconomic.
Cool urban heat islands
Traditional gray infrastructure absorbs and holds heat from the sun as well as from vehicles and buildings. Adding green space to an urban environment helps to keep things cool.Filter water/increase water quality
Rather than flow over impervious surfaces like roads, parking lots, and roofs, green infrastructure allows water to filter into the ground slowly and be filtered and cleaned by the soil and its inhabitants, naturally.Water/Energy Nexus
Using water uses energy, from the sanitation, to the transportation, to the disposal. Green Infrastructure helps reduce this need by retaining water for later use and filtering water naturally before it seeps to the Bay.Reduce flooding
Basement backups, overflows, and pipe clogs can all be prevented or reduced by Green Infrastructure and related practices. Rain barrels, conscious flushing and disposal down the drain, and disconnection of illicit stormwater sources all help reduce sewer system stress and likelihood of flooding.Cost savings
Lower water, heating, and cooling costs are all side effects of some types of Green Infrastructure projects.Filter air/increase air quality
Plants filter the air to naturally increase air quality. More green space means more filtration and better air quality!Decrease air/water quality related health concerns
Dirty air and water can lead to increased health concerns such as asthma or E. coli contamination. By cleaning and filtering these resources naturally, green infrastructure helps reduce these and related illnesses.Increase climate resiliency
Lake Superior is experiencing profound changes; the future, while uncertain, seems to hold challenges for urban infrastructure -- especially in the Chequamegon Bay region. Improve and provide habitat for wildlife
Plants are good habitat for organisms ranging from microbes at their roots to pollinators at their shoots. The birds and bees love plants and trees!Create green jobs
Community rain gardens can be tended to by volunteers or workers, allowing anyone with a green thumb to step forward. Stormwater source disconnections often require specialist instruction, so those with the required skills can put them to productive use. Community involvement requires organizing and coordination, letting leaders play their part. There are many job opportunities in Green Infrastructure.Provide recreation space
Parks and green spaces invite community recreation in the form of a simple stroll. Even green roofs provide a welcoming environment in a space that once went unused. Increase property values
Green infrastructure initiatives and products are worth more than their gray counterparts.Aesthetic appeal
Litter is ugly -- and one social aspect of Green Infrastructure is picking up trash! Reducing litter, pet waste, and impervious gray space in the environment are all Provide essential ecosystem services/promote the natural water cycle
Urban environments disrupt the natural cycling of water. Rather than slowly seep into the soil, into plants, and into the air, urban impervious surfaces (often covered in various types of pollution) direct water quickly into the storm sewer -- then directly into the Bay! Green Infrastructure helps to slow the flow of water and let nature take its course.Erosion protection
Fast flowing water in areas with loose soil can cause erosion of this soil, carrying it downstream into the Bay, leading to sedimentation, eutrophication, and potentially harmful algae blooms. Green Infrastructure helps to slow the flow of water, sometimes even adding plants to help stabilize the soil.Increase urban biodiversity
Rather than spread a monoculture of grass, Green Infrastructure strives to include a variety of flora in its design. Rain gardens, green roofs and walls, and even tree boxes can help add to the diversity of plant and animal life in the city.Maintain soil structure and quality
Many Green Infrastructure initiatives would be baseless without good soil. One sure way to promote healthy soil is by composting. Quality soil ensures plant health and growth, reduces erosion, and provides other important ecosystem services. Aid in carbon sequestration
Plants, and specifically wetlands, are good at carbon sequestration. As a tree grows, it stores carbon in its wood; wetlands store carbon in their mucky detritus soils.Sustainable community development
Ashland's 25x25 plan is a mission toward a more sustainable city. Green Infrastructure can help meet these goals.Economic growth and investment
While many initiatives have a high cost up-front, they eventually pay for themselves -- and then some -- while reducing stress on the environment in one way or another.Stronger communities: social inclusion and community cohesion
Many Green Infrastructure initiatives require community effort and social change; this starts with the individual and can be broadened to include all of Ashland's citizens.Sustainable urban drainage
Rather than pumping polluted runoff straight into the Bay or allowing it to enter the sanitary sewer system, Green Infrastructure works to slow the flow of water and let it slowly drain through the soil.Improving levels of physical activity and health
With more welcoming green space available, more citizens can get involved in the community with outdoor recreation in a clean green space.Improving psychological health and mental well-being / Ecotherapy
Being in nature has been shown to have beneficial effects on psychological wellbeing.
