ABSTRACT In June 2013, Georgia Tech developed a hydrologic model and Stormwater Master Plan for approximately one half of its 400-acre campus. Through the use of green roofs, porous pavements, interconnected cisterns, surface conveyance systems, rain gardens, reforestation, and other best management practices, the Institute aimed to reduce its burden on Atlanta’s overtaxed stormwater systems and to provide cost-savings over a 25-year period. While this plan provides a framework for addressing environmental responsibility and fiscal sustainability in progressive and enterprising ways, the opportunity to integrate education and research into the construction of new green infrastructure remains. This educational overlay intends to supplement the existing Stormwater Master Plan by engaging students, faculty, staff, and visitors in the design, implementation, and expansion of the Georgia Tech campus stormwater management system. This process of building a multidisciplinary community around water management has the capacity to not only advance the community of current and future water management professionals, but also to improve campus resiliency to climate change through active participation in issues of responsible water use, urban heat island mitigation, and natural resource conservation.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 06 07 08 09 10 12 15 16 17 18 12 15 16 17 18 19 19 01 01 01 19 01
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03
04
05
INTRODUCTION
BASIN CHARACTERISTICS
STORMWATER MODEL
MONITORING & MODELING
RESEARCH & COLLABORATION
EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
INTERPRETIVE ELEMENTS
INTERACTIVE ART
CAMPUS ECO-TOUR
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
COSTS
PHASING
ANALYSIS OF BENEFITS
SUMMARY
REFERENCES
01 INTRODUCTION The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is a 400 acre urban campus located in the center of Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta experiences hot, moist summers and an average annual rainfall of approximately 52 inches. Despite this significant amount of precipitation, the region’s urban and agricultural water demands have begun to exceed natural water supplies. Regional water scarcity issues have forced Atlanta to levy the highest water rates in the nation and engage in an ongoing tri-state water ownership conflict with neighboring states Tennessee and Florida. In addition, Atlanta experiences substantial inflows from stormwater runoff that often overwhelm the capacity of the city’s combined sewer systems, resulting in an unacceptably high number of combined sewer overflows and flooding that disproportionately affects low-income populations. Georgia Tech regards stormwater runoff from the campus as a limited resource that can be used to develop an ecological landscape before discharging any runoff into the City of Atlanta combined sewer system. Emphasis has been placed on integrating ecological concepts, education, and research to develop a comprehensive approach to natural sustainability and to transform Georgia Tech into a living, learning laboratory. In order to implement these concepts, Georgia Tech’s Office of Capital Planning and Space Management initiated several projects and activities, including: • • • • • •
Campus Master Plan, 2004 Campus Tree Care Plan, 2008 Landscape Master Plan, 2011 Stormwater Master Plan for Basin A, 2013 Stormwater Cistern Master Plan, 2013 Blackwater Feasibility Study, 2013
Momentum from the structural stormwater elements of these combined documents presents an ideal opportunity for students and faculty across multiple disciplines to integrate existing and proposed green infrastructure into the Institute’s core mission of education and research. This Educational Overlay to the existing Georgia Tech Stormwater Master Plan recommends steps that interested parties on campus can take to leverage educational and research opportunities that will further transform the campus into a true living, learning laboratory. The Educational Overlay has four major components: • Monitoring & Modeling • Research & Collaboration • Educational Outreach • Curriculum Development The overarching goals of these four components are to engage students, faculty, staff, and visitors with the existing green infrastructure on campus, to identify ways in which the campus’ stormwater infrastructure can advance research, and to build a multidisciplinary network of professionals and aspiring professionals dedicated to creating more resilient places through stormwater management.
02 BASIN CHARACTERISTICS The figure to the left depicts existing stormwater infrastructure for the 181-acre area that defines Basin A—the area covered in Georgia Tech’s campus Stormwater Master Plan—including pipes and storage facilities within the distinct sub-basins. Curve numbers were calculated for each sub-basin, and subsequently the basin as a whole; Basin A currently has an overall curve number of 87. Through a series of elements such as infiltration gardens, green roofs, cisterns, and blackwater treatment and reuse facilities, the Stormwater Master Plan proposes interventions to decrease this curve number, reducing both peak flow and volume through infiltration, storage, and reuse.
The hydrograph on the far left shows the 25-year, 24-hour storm event modeled for Basin A under current, baseline, undeveloped, and future conditions. Future conditions are based on the Georgia Tech Master Plan for new buildings and facilities, but do not include the implementation of the Stormwater Master Plan. As the graph illustrates, there is little difference in the existing and future runoff scenarios if the changes proposed in the Stormwater Master Plan are not put into effect. This is largely due to the fact that the area was already fairly urbanized in 1950 when baseline conditions were measured. The hydrograph to the immediate left includes the implementation of the Stormwater Master Plan for future conditions. The model shows a 17% reduction in peak flow over existing conditions.
03 STORMWATER MODEL Georgia Tech’s Stormwater Master Plan utilized InfoSWMM (v12, Innovyze), a comprehensive hydrologic, hydraulic, and water quality simulation model tailored specifically to the Georgia Tech campus. This model was built on a foundation of the EPA’s Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) in combination with ESRI’s ArcGIS. Recently, the Institute was awarded an Innovyze Education Software Grant, which will make the campus stormwater model available to students, researchers, and faculty. Combining theory with practice, the InfoSWMM model provides the dual benefit of a specialized research tool as well as a teaching apparatus. Housing the model at Georgia Tech’s Center for Geographic Information Systems will effectively turn the Stormwater Master Plan into a dynamic document, allowing students and faculty to keep it accurate and up-to-date into the future. Furthermore, this presents the opportunity to extend the Stormwater Master Plan to Basin B, ensuring coverage of the entire campus. Given the Institute’s recent attention to stormwater and the innovative best management practices included in the Stormwater Master Plan, an opportunity exists to both integrate the InfoSWMM model into existing course offerings and have it serve as the foundation for new ones. A multidisciplinary studio, for example, could use the model to focus on campus resiliency to climate change or the effect of the campus’ stormwater best management practices on the City of Atlanta’s combined sewer system.
04 MONITORING & MODELING As is true with any model, sustained monitoring of new green infrastructure is a vital component for quantitatively tracking the impact investments are making on the local and regional stormwater systems. Several researchers at Georgia Tech currently conduct field research for the purpose of education and monitoring. Dr. Ching-Hua Huang at the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, for example, teaches a water quality course in which students conduct water quality monitoring of stormwater cisterns on campus. Through this course and others like it, the installation of water monitoring equipment at various water collection and storage units could not only teach students about the process of data collection and interpretation, but also inform future iterations of the campus’ stormwater model. Water quality monitoring can help determine: • Cistern water quality based on source (roof, ground flow, infiltration, building condensate, etc.) • Change in water quality before and after large rain events • The benefits of pre-filtering compared to post-filtering • The relative merits of different types of filtering and treatment systems, whether for black water or for captured runoff
Water quantity monitoring can help to determine: • Volume of water collected from various sources • Volume of runoff from different types of impervious surfaces, buildings, and natural processes such as bioretention zones and tree trenches • Relative merits of different methods of releasing stormwater after rain events Continued monitoring and modeling is vital to the ongoing design process, both in comprehensively planning for environmental issues as well as for engineering individual solutions. A better understanding of the systems will allow for more efficient management and allocation of costs, as well as improved water policy decisions. This data could also be disseminated through existing live data dashboards to inform the general student body about real-time water consumption.
05 RESEARCH & COLLABORATION The Campus Master Plan at Georgia Tech, maintained by the Office of Capital Planning and Space Management, is seen as a document that should be constantly maintained and updated; a sustainable master planning framework therefore includes a system of research and collaboration that would help inform future iterations of the Master Plan. Having obtained the InfoSWMM model for use by Georgia Tech faculty and students, establishing a system of monitoring creates the opportunity to treat the campus as a living, learning research laboratory. There are many departments and organizations at Georgia Tech that engage in water resource management efforts, but these efforts are not currently coordinated. Per interviews with students and professors within the College of Architecture, College of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, there is a need for collaboration and opportunities to align in-class education, laboratory projects, and ongoing research. A campus development curriculum track would include studios in a number of schools, including architecture, city planning, civil engineering and business. Data from monitoring equipment and strategies from the Master Plan and Sector Plans could be used to generate scenarios for students to analyze. Ideally, the results of these studios would go into a database that would be available whenever future changes are explored by the Institute. Not only would this be a way for students and faculty to take an active interest in the campus, it
would also serve as a chance for the Office of Capital Planning and Space Management to gain multiple perspectives and valuable input. An annual interdisciplinary studio would aim at solving specific Institute-defined stormwater issues related to current and/or future scenarios. This would include aspects of cost-benefit analyses, connection to regional issues, and opportunities for future research, all in addition to standard environmentalconscious solutions. With the help of the InfoSWMM model, research resulting from individuals and courses could be placed into a repository of relevant and campus-specific data and information. The demonstration project outlined in this report is a way to install a real-time laboratory space where experiments could be proposed and studied. This could, in the future, form the basis of research courses, student theses and dissertations, or development goals. Research projects that could be undertaken in the demonstration space include: • Study of impacts of different types of impervious surfaces on runoff and water quality • Analysis of various types of engineered of soils for infiltration • Study of the effect of landscape on water quality and runoff • Comparison of various best management practices
06 EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH The educational outreach aspect of the overlay involves the creation of structural and non-structural connections to help increase awareness and knowledge about stormwater best management practices, both theoretically and as demonstrated on Georgia Tech’s campus. Institute-affiliated groups such as the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) have the existing capacity and resources needed for external educational outreach. Internal student engagement should be achieved by fostering relationships between on-campus organizations; the Student Planning Association (SPA) and Students Organizing for Sustainability (SOS) could revive a recently-disbanded Water Resources Interest Group to discuss campus stormwater activities, for example. On-campus outreach involves creation of demonstrative and interactive interfaces that serve to educate students, visitors, and the public about stormwater management challenges and solutions. These would include: • Public art that incorporates stormwater management features or education about water resources • Argon, an augmented reality smartphone application developed at Georgia Tech, that allows users to see hidden stormwater management features such as cisterns or infiltration systems • Indicators of stormwater management efforts and learning tools, such as watershed markers, signs, and QR codes
• Eco-tours for the public, as well as current and prospective students Engaging local elementary, middle, and high schools to collectively address water resource issues in Atlanta is also an essential component for achieving stormwater management goals. External outreach could include: • Using Georgia Tech as a ‘living laboratory’ for hands-on STEM research and monitoring activities • Experiments and projects that relate to current curriculum, such as 8th grade Earth Science requirements Professional outreach involves connecting Georgia Tech to other organizations and governmental entities in metropolitan Atlanta. Collaborating with nearby universities, such as Emory University, Georgia State University, and Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta, would help create a more effective strategy for addressing watershed- and regional-level stormwater issues that go beyond the borders of Georgia Tech. These could include: • Public presentations pertaining to water resource management at Georgia Tech • Documenting the details of stormwater management projects—their environmental and economic benefits, challenges to implementation, etc.—to be made available to public, non-profit, and educational institutions
07 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT Many colleges and schools at Georgia Tech engage in water resource education; however, these efforts remain uncoordinated. Interviews with students and faculty reveal a need for in-class, laboratory project, and ongoing research collaboration across the College of Architecture, College of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. Through the re-instatement of a water resource management concentration, similar to the campus’ multidisciplinary transportation systems engineering concentration, students can integrate multiple perspectives on water planning, policy, and engineering into a set, well-defined curriculum. Increased stormwater management education on campus will provide opportunities for innovative curriculum expansions. Dedicated stormwater management courses and the integration of stormwater education into existing classes will not only provide hands-on experiences for students, but will also encourage stronger interdisciplinary work among the various colleges and schools. The following are possible stormwater curricula strategies for Georgia Tech: • An overarching water resource management track cutting across multiple disciplines • A water resources-focused Tech Experience course, available to fulfill the required first-year undergraduate experience requirement • Stormwater management course enhancements within the School of City and Regional Planning
• Stormwater management policy tools education within Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts • Stormwater management design solutions explored within the College of Architecture • Engineering and Architecture interdisciplinary studio that focuses on water quality and stormwater design • The incorporation of new green infrastructure on campus such as bioswales, permeable pavements, and engineered soils into existing coursework • The consideration of large-scale projects, such as the conversion of Peters Parking deck into a campus green space, as an opportunity to implement new research monitoring devices and to educate students, faculty, and visitors on water management through interpretive elements, interactive art, and augmented reality web applications Additionally, curriculum development for local K-12 schools off campus could include: • Programming aimed at teaching students about the Proctor Creek watershed. This could include historical background, the challenges and opportunities facing the watershed today, and how the students’ daily actions directly and indirectly affect the ecosystem
08 INTERPRETIVE ELEMENTS Georgia Tech is currently applying for registration as a campus arboretum with Tree Campus USA. A committee is pursuing funding for signs to identify the 178 tree species on campus in order to educate students and visitors on native species identification, historic and medicinal importance, potential endangered species, and wild life support. These new signs also present an opportunity to educate about stormwater and evapotranspiration. Through the inclusion of quick response (QR) codes on the signs, interested parties can quickly obtain information on the impact of trees on stormwater management. Additional signage could help understand the role of Georgia Tech within the larger Proctor Creek watershed and the steps being taken by the campus to protect it.
09 INTERACTIVE ART Public art is another way to creatively connect students and visitors with green infrastructure on campus. EcoArt combines form and function to create educational assets on campus while also making a lasting aesthetic impression on visitors and passersby. Art in public spaces is often used to instill a sense of place and can create a personal connection with a specific topic or location. Different forms of EcoArt, such as sculptures, murals, and functional public spaces, have been incorporated in diverse settings across the country. Many of these projects often improve water quality while informing and inspiring onlookers about ecological systems and relevant local environmental issues. For example, infiltraion wall to the right allows students to see the underground process of infiltration that often goes unnoticed. This educational display serves as a work of art while also helping people understand water processes in action.
This educational overlay is also an opportunity for Georgia Tech to involve the student body and the greater public community in stormwater engagement. A process should be initiated that allows students from Georgia Tech, other Atlanta universities, and local high schools to participate in the creation of public art that is both aesthetically pleasing and educational. Some potential ideas, in addition to the infiltration wall, could include a campus wide competition to design a mural in the proposed Peters Park area or the temporary art installations in promenient spots across campus. This is an opportunity to connect with students across different disciplines and from other universities, tapping into their creativity while also educating students about stormwater and green infrastructure.
10 CAMPUS ECO-TOUR As an alternative to the traditional campus tour, Georgia Tech is creating a guided campus eco-tour that allows potential students and parents to see steps being taken to move towards environmental sustainability. This tour utilizes augmented reality web applications to show underground infrastructure in real space and with corresponding real-time data.
Clough Commons Cistern
11 It is often hard for most people to picture the size of the underground cisterns. One stop along the eco-tour visits the recreation center’s multi-purpose sports field and shows the size of the underground corrugated metal cistern relative to the height of Bud Peterson, Georgia Tech’s president. Already a vital part of any campus tour, augmented reality allows visitors to see the complex rainwater capture, storage, and reuse system that is buried underneath the Klaus Advanced Computing Building. The development of this particular application would require the aid of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing in order to accurately map the sophisticated network. When viewed from the roof garden of the adjacent Clough Commons, the size and prominence of the Tech Green cistern becomes apparent. This stop along the tour gives visitors a glimpse into the “regional” approach taken by the campus for stormwater management and quantifies the amount of water currently stored in the 1.4 million gallon cistern into relatable terms such as 75% full is equal to irrigating the campus for 26 days.
12 DEMONSTRATION PROJECT Large-scale projects stipulated in the stormwater master plan present a unique opportunity to incorporate education, research, and art into a single space. Projects such as the proposed Peters Park have the ability to bring water resource management to the forefront of the campus body and celebrate the advances already being made by the campus. A large “infiltration wall� serves three purposes in Peters Park: to act as a retaining wall, to educate park visitors about the process of infiltration, and to serve as a research lab for testing different the impact of different engineered soils and surfaces on infiltration.
By mimicking terraces utilized throughout history, the park space benefits from creative tailgating space next to Bobby Dobb Stadium and through the preventaion of soil erosion caused by the large elevation change.
SKETCH OF PROPO
13
OSED PETERS PARK
In addition to promoting infiltraion and evaporation, new rain gardens could also serve as test bed for research on treatment trains and the imapct of plant species on stormwater management
By allowing stormwater to pass from the street into the rain garden, this locaion is better able to deal with historic flooding issues.
14
A view of the proposed Peters Park looking south towards Bobby Dodd Stadium. While this space is currently an aging parking structure, the transformation of the area into its originally intended use as a recreational park would make it the largest green space on campus and would provide a dynamic opportunity to incorporate water-related research, art, and educational signage.
15 COSTS
Peter's Park Storm Water Eco-Garden Estimated Costs ITEM
SUBITEM
Parking Garage Removal
sq. ft. concrete
Labor Costs Bioswales and Rain Garden
1 1
$25,000.00
$25,000.00
Deconstruction
3
$45,000.00
$135,000.00
Construction
15
$32,000.00
$480,000.00
Trees
25
$400.00
$10,000.00
60 25,20 0
$80.00
$4,800.00
$0.50
$12,600.00
1
$56,000.00
$56,000.00
20
$600.00
$12,000.00
Gravel (sq. ft.)
8,000
$0.20
$1,600.00
Mulch (sq. ft.)
4,000
$3.00
$12,000.00
600
$50.00
$30,000.00
1
$36,000.00
$36,000.00
20
$400.00
$8,000.00
Detention System
1
$88,000.00
$88,000.00
Design Consultation Fee
1
$50,000.00
$50,000.00
Storm water Engineering
1
$35,000.00
Structure
1
$35,000.00 $225,000.0 0
$225,000.00
Water Connections
4
$5,000.00
$20,000.00
Water Pump
1
$25,000.00
$25,000.00
250
$1.00
$250.00
Pavement (sq. ft.)
2,000
$10.00
$20,000.00
Wood slats
1000
$25.00
$25,000.00
1
$40,000.00
$40,000.00
Irrigation System Furniture
Hydrology Soils (cubic ft) Electrical System Lighting
Rocks
Terracing
Land Clearance Concrete
Public Information
ITEM TOTAL
Decommissioning Environmental Compliance
Grass (sq. ft.)
Sidewalks and Paths
COST EA. $3.00 $350,000.0 0
Bushes
Water Tower
QTY. 74,40 0
SUBTOTAL
$223,200.00 $350,000.00
4000
$12.00
$48,000.00
Landscape Consulting Fee
1
$36,000.00
$36,000.00
Public Art Mural ARGON Tech Programming Signage/Education Markers
1
$5,000.00
$5,000.00
1
$6,000.00
$6,000.00
12
$600.00
$7,200.00 GRAND TOTAL
$598,200.00 $615,000.00
$356,000.00
$282,250.00 $45,000.00
$124,000.00
$18,200.00 $2,038,650.0 0
16 PHASING The educational overlay to the Stormwater Master Plan can be divided into four phases: Phase I addresses the immediate needs, student body and public involvement, and initial education initiatives; Phase II initiates site design and construction, launches the eco-tour, and allows researchers to begin case studies on campus; Phase III focuses on long-term assessment, refinement to the campus stormwater plan, and outreach to the international research community for continued study; and Phase IV ensures the ongoing operation and maintenance of facilities and initiatives proposed in the educational overlay, and is essentially a perpetual re-assessment phase, through the continuous review and refinement based on new stormwater management data collected and emerging best practices.
Months TASK Vision Proposal/Refinement Input from Organizations Feedback from Campus Public Relations Management Structure Design Plan Public Hearings Approvals Fundraising Construction Operation/Maintenance
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
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17 ANALYSIS OF BENEFITS There are several benefits to the implementation of the educational overlay to the Stormwater Master Plan: first, it provides an opportunity to update and enhance the current curriculum and stormwater-related course offerings; second, it will provide an amenity to the Georgia Tech community and ameliorate campus resiliency by improving environmental conditions; and third, it builds on the existing framework laid by the Institute aimed at improving environmental sustainability and campus infrastructure. The following sections highlight more specific benefits associated with implementing this educational overlay. Education The concept of Peter’s Park as a living, learning laboratory has the potential to enlighten the education of more than 700 students in the biology, landscape architecture, civil engineering, and city planning disciplines. These students will have access to a unique and interactive outdoor research space that is currently unavailable on the Georgia Tech. Other educational benefits include:
Environment This plan considers the natural watershed on which the campus was built in channeling surface runoff into a controllable space that can benefit the campus aesthetically and environmentally. The materialization of Peters Park as a naturally occurring stormwater retention area will help to eliminate the flooding issues that currently plague the area. Furthermore, Peters Park will help to mitigate the heat island effect on campus. The impervious surfaces that comprise Peters Parking Deck absorb and re-radiate heat energy into the atmosphere. The creation of an ecological green space decreases surface albedo and increases canopy cover, effectively cooling the local environment.
• Testing of infiltration through permeable and impermeable surfaces • Researching plant and animal species within an urban environment • Promotion of ongoing, controlled research projects for long-term analysis
Economic Water is an increasingly scarce resource in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Peters Park will create an additional reservoir for stormwater collection, which can be used to offset water demand for irrigation. Greywater reuse will be expanded from existing capacity to serve more facility restrooms throughout campus and can also be used for drip irrigation. With water prices expected to increase by 15% over the next ten years, the focus on water reuse on the Georgia Tech campus will reduce overall costs associated with water demand.
Additionally, the augmented reality (Argon) eco-tour will foster a stateof-the-art experience for both current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and other visitors. This tour will give much-needed visibility to the process of stormwater management on campus, both above and below ground. The unique interactive experience could increase Georgia Tech’s recruitment of the brightest students from around the world.
Though the initial up-front costs of Peters Park are significant, the long-term benefits of the educational overlay will achieve cost effectiveness. Initial estimates indicate a savings of $1.8 million over the next ten years and a 12% reduction in energy demand by 2020. Finally, making stormwater visible at Georgia Tech will help to create a more environmentally-consciencious campus community.
18 SUMMARY An educational overlay to Georgia Tech’s stormwater master plan takes the first step of expanding the purview of campus stormwater management beyond hired consultants and dedicated staff labor to creating a comprehensive, multidisciplinary team of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to improving the campus’ ecological landscape. Atlanta faces issues of combined sewer overflows backing up in low-income neighborhoods, an on-going tri-state water conflict, and high water rates. By engaging a larger segment of the campus body in the on-going development of the stormwater master plan, more graduates of Georgia Tech will be equipped to tackle these long-standing problems and faculty will be better able to conduct research to advance the profession as a whole. Through the use of monitoring and modeling, research and collaboration, educational outreach, and curriculum development, in addition to the proposal for interpretive elements, interactive art, and an augmented reality-based campus eco-tour, a network of professionals and aspiring professional with have the opportunity to interact with green infrastructure and stormwater technology that can help create a more sustainable and resilient campus.
19 REFERENCES Green Public Art Consultancy. Green Public Art Consultancy. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from http://www. greenpublicart.com/news/2011/public-art-green-functional-and-beautiful/attachment/6/ Green Storm Water Infrastructure at Minnetrista in Muncie | WingraSprings. WingraSprings. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from http://wingrasprings.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/green-storm-water-infrastructure-at-minnetrista-in-muncie/ Laguna Beach, CA - Water Quality Division. Laguna Beach, CA - Water Quality Division. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/cityhall/wq/water_quality_division/default.asp New Signage at Reservoirs - Public Utilities, Columbus, Ohio. City of Columbus, Ohio. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from http://publicutilities.columbus.gov/signs.aspx Waier, P. R., Babbitt, C., Baker, T., Balboni, B., & Bastoni, R. (2009). Building construction cost data 2010 (68th annual ed.). Kingston, MA: R.S. Means Co.
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