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Introducing Green
Infrastructure: Defining Green
Infrastructure
April 29, 2015
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What is Green Infrastructure?
“Green infrastructure uses natural hydrologic features to manage water and provide environmental and
community benefits. Green infrastructure uses vegetation, soils, and natural processes to manage water
and create healthier urban environments. At the scale of a city or county, green infrastructure refers to the
patchwork of natural areas that provides habitat, flood protection, cleaner air, and cleaner water. At the
scale of a neighborhood or site, green infrastructure refers to stormwater management systems that mimic
nature by soaking up and storing water.”
What is Natural Infrastructure?
“Natural infrastructure (sometimes called green or sustainable infrastructure) is the interconnected
network of natural and undeveloped areas needed to maintain and support ecosystems. They also
provide a wide array of environmental, health and economic benefits such as mitigating climate change
impacts and sustaining clean air and water. Our Natural Infrastructure has been declining – in quality
and quantity – since the start of the industrial revolution. Government agencies and organizations faced
with sprawl and other poorly planned development often conserve and restore land and waterways in a
haphazard manner. This reactive approach to conservation ignores ecosystem processes. On the other
hand, the Natural Infrastructure approach is proactive with an emphasis on connectivity to support longterm sustainability.”
“In its broadest application, natural infrastructure encompasses an interconnected network of natural
areas and other open spaces that conserves natural ecosystem values and functions, sustains clean air
and water, and provides a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife"
Defining Green Infrastructure
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What is Urban Greening?
“Urban greening programs usually include creation and maintenance of green space, such as parks;
planting and care of trees; and the creation of green infrastructure such as rain gardens and green roofs”
“Urban greening refers to public landscaping and urban forestry projects that create mutually beneficial
relationships between city dwellers and their environments.”
What are Green Streets?
“Green streets can incorporate a wide variety of design elements including street trees, permeable
pavements, bioretention, and swales. Although the design and appearance of green streets will vary, the
functional goals are the same: provide source control of stormwater, limit its transport and pollutant
conveyance to the collection system, restore predevelopment hydrology to the extent possible, and
provide environmentally enhanced roads. Successful application of green techniques will encourage soil
and vegetation contact and infiltration and retention of stormwater.”
Defining Green Infrastructure
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What is Urban Forestry?
“Urban forestry is the management of trees for their contribution to the physiological, sociological,
and economic well-being of urban society. Urban forestry deals with woodlands, groups of trees, and
individual trees, where people live - it is multifaceted, for urban areas include a great variety of
habitats (streets, parks, derelict corners, etc) where trees bestow a great variety of benefits...”
What are Living Shorelines?
“Living Shoreline treatments address erosion in lower energy situations by providing long-term
protection, restoration or enhancement of vegetated shoreline habitats through strategic placement of
plants, stone, sand fill and other structural or organic materials. Living Shoreline treatments do not
include structures that sever the natural processes & connections between uplands and aquatic areas.”
“Living shoreline projects utilize a variety of structural and organic materials, such as wetland plants,
submerged aquatic vegetation, oyster reefs, coir fiber logs, sand fill, and stone.”
Defining Green Infrastructure
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What is Low Impact Development?
“LID works to replicate natural hydrologic processes and reduce the disruptive effects of urban
development and runoff, has emerged as an alternative approach that is complementary to conventional
stormwater management measures including stormwater best management practices (BMPs) used to
manage runoff. LID is based on many of the functional unit processes found in the natural environment
to treat storm water runoff, balancing the need for engineered systems during urban development with
natural features and treatment processes. By using the functional unit processes of the natural
environment to provide stormwater treatment and control, and employing distributed controls to
maximize water storage and re-use opportunities, LID techniques can enhance infiltration, percolation,
and evapotranspiration to reduce adverse effects on surface waters, encourage groundwater recharge,
and enhance water quality. LID methods offer great versatility in design, and can be incorporated into
new urban development, redevelopment designs, and alternative transportation design with relative
ease.”
“Low impact development refers to a variety of both structural and unstructured stormwater management
strategies that forego traditionally complex and costly grey infrastructure (pipes, sewers, etc) for green
space, native landscaping, natural hydrologic functions and other micro approaches.
Defining Green Infrastructure
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References
Green Infrastructure: "What is Green Infrastructure” (2014). USEPA:
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/gi_what.cfm
Natural Infrastructure: “Going Green in the Mid-Atlantic”. (2015) USEPA: http://www.epa.gov/region3/green/infrastructure.html
“Natural Infrastructure and Green Communities: Linking Landscapes and Communities”. (2012). USEPA:
http://www.epa.gov/greenkit/natural_infrastructure.htm
Urban Greening: What is Urban Greening?”(2015). City of Pittsburgh: http://www.pittsburghpa.gov/green/urbangreening.htm
“About Urban Greening” N/D. Capital Roots: http://www.capitalroots.org/programs/urban-greening/urban-greening1/
Green Streets: “Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure: Municipal Handbook. (2008). USEPA, page 2:
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/upload/gi_munichandbook_green_streets.pdf
Urban Forestry: Lanly, JP.. “The Potential of Urban Forestry in Developing Countries”. N/D. FAO:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/t1680e/T1680E01.htm#TopOfPage
Living Shorelines: “Living Shorelines: Why a living shorelines?” (2015). Center for Coastal Resources Management:
http://ccrm.vims.edu/livingshorelines/
“Living Shorelines”. (2015). NOAA: http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/restoration/techniques/livingshorelines.html
Low Impact Development: City of San Diego Low Impact Design Manual. (2011). City of San Diego:
http://www.sandiego.gov/stormwater/pdf/lidmanual.pdf
What is Green Infrastructure” (2014). USEPA:
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/gi_what.cfm
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