Integrating placemaking concepts into Green Stormwater Infrastructure design in the City of Philadelphia

ABSTRACT

Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) is a sustainable way to manage urban stormwater. GSI projects are usually designed with little or no community involvement and provide mostly environmental and some economic benefits—if designed effectively, constructed properly, and maintained regularly. GSIs in neighborhoods viewed as vulnerable or with a significant presence of disinvestment, however, rarely serve as placemaking projects offering social benefits such as recreational and community-building opportunities for residents. This article explains the process of planning and designing GSIs with a dual agenda: stormwater management and placemaking. The planning process used Geodesign and Community Design methods. This endeavor engaged community residents, stakeholders, and environmental professionals focusing on two vacant lots in a Latinx neighborhood of the City of Philadelphia, USA. The resulting site plans show that blending unique design elements derived from dual functionalities and multiple methods is possible through a collaborative design process. This article argues that integrating placemaking concepts into GSI design processes may have a broader appeal to communities viewed as vulnerable or with a significant presence of disinvestment.

KEYWORDS:

• Community design
• community design charrette
• geodesign
• Green Stormwater Infrastructure
• participatory planning
• placemaking

Acknowledgments

I acknowledge the support and contribution of the community partner Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha for Everyone (APM) and Philadelphia residents, stakeholders, students, and professionals who participated in this study. I would like to thank Temple University students Daniel Bramhall, Kate Frangos, Jason Hachadorian, Kyle Hearing, and Jamie Magaziner and Rowan University students Giavanni Rizzo and Cassie Shugart for providing research and technical support. I sincerely thank my Temple University colleagues, the late Dr. Jeffrey Featherstone and Richard Fromuth, for providing support throughout the project period and Dr. Lynn Mandarano for facilitating the community design charrette like a champ. Special thanks to consultant Susan Harris for calculating potential environmental outcomes of GSI scenarios and architect Sanjana Ahmed for designing icons. This project was completed partially under Assistance Agreement No. UW-96327501 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. I am solely responsible for the views expressed in this paper and the sponsoring agency does not endorse any products or commercial services I mentioned.

Disclosure

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Urban Waters Small Grant Program, UW-96327501.