Investing in Multiple Benefits

Historically, cities in the United States have relied on single purpose infrastructure systems that are very costly to construct and maintain. Much of today’s landscape is characterized by aging infrastructure at the end of its lifecycle. Financial constraints caused by shrinking budgets fuel demand among cities for new approaches to infrastructure designed to be more resource efficient by providing multiple, complementary benefits. This need is more acute in communities with high rates of growth and development. These communities often experience difficulty affording system upgrades at the pace necessary to meet local demand and respond to the cumulative impacts from development in adjacent jurisdictions.

To maximize benefits for public expenditures, designers consider social, environmental, and economic factors to design infrastructure systems to serve multiple functions, or have multifunctionality. Recreation, cultural expression, and education are examples of social functions that infrastructure investments can provide. Communities may also consider water storage and filtration, biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, and other environmental benefits that indirectly improve quality of life. Multifunctional infrastructure projects may also offer economic benefits, such as a reduced need for expensive engineering solutions, food production, energy efficiency, and other benefits that have market value.

infrastructure

Infrastructure is the fixed system of public works that a community and its economy need to function. There are two general categories of infrastructure, hard and soft. Hard infrastructure refers to the physical networks necessary for basic functions (e.g. roads, water and sewer, drainage, and telecommunications). Soft infrastructure refers to the institutions that maintain community and economic health (e.g. schools, parks and open space, health care).

drainage infrastructure

Typical drainage systems use wide concrete culverts and ditches to direct water out of communities as fast as possible. These systems are expensive, prone to catastrophic failure (especially with increased demands from upstream neighbors), and provide no additional benefits. Alternatives with green infrastructure provide multiple benefits, including: recreation opportunities that support public health, water filtration with riparian buffers that improve water quality and biodiversity, and increased stormwater storage capacity that translates to economic savings.

The picture below shows how a multi-functional drainage way creates space to hold excess stormwater during flood events and provides ecosystem benefits, such as improving water quality and preserving habitats for wildlife.

Design + Policy Recommendations

This chapter presents three driving concepts that address different social, environmental, and economic concerns raised in community survey responses. When layered together, they can help designers create spaces that provide flood risk reduction and community wellbeing benefits. They also represent a shift in thinking that can foster resilience and improve quality of life in urban and suburban environments. The following concepts build upon stormwater and transportation management best practices recognized by professional organizations and government agencies such as the American Institute for Architects (AIA), the American Planning Association (APA), the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX). The next sections introduce each concept before highlighting important benefits and considerations. A list of tools and implementation strategies is also included that may be useful in creating a multifunctional infrastructure system that provides stormwater management, transportation, and recreation benefits for all Denham Springs residents.

Infrastructure investments with multiple benefits increase quality of life while decreasing flood risk.

Community + Water

Many communities are flooding more often than ever before as more frequent and intense storms overwhelm drainage systems. Adopting new stormwater mangement systems that create space for water in the landscape can bolster resilience. In some places no amount of engineering, landscaping, or infrastructure improvements will protect people and property. In these locations, creating harmony between community and water means restoring and conserving the floodplain through converting, in perpetuity, flood-prone properties into green space. Community + Water recognizes the growing importance of planning for water by creating space to store stormwater in the landscape.

Community + Mobility

Integrating stormwater management with transportation improvements allows an individual investment to produce multiple, complimentary benefits, including: increased physical safety for non-motorists, improved water quality, and increased stormwater storage capacity in the landscape. Community + Mobility couples stormwater management improvements with providing safe transit options for all community members, regardless of age, ability, or access to resources.

Community + Active Lifestyles

Constructing floodable parks and greenways that border natural waterways can create a recreational destination for residents and tourists that adds needed stormwater storage capacity in the landscape. Community + Active Lifestyles means transforming flood-prone areas into floodable community destinations that support healthy, active lifestyles.