Green Infrastructure Resources

>> Manual: “Green Infrastructure for Southwestern Neighborhoods”

>> Webinar Series on Green Infrastructure - Recorded Sessions Available

>> Green infrastructure design standards (Tucson DOT-approved)

>> Video: About WMG's Green Streets Program

>> Neighborhood green infrastructure bike/walk tour

Green Infrastructure for Southwestern Neighborhoods

This manual provides information for neighborhood residents, municipal professionals, grassroots advocates and others who seek to implement green infrastructure (GI) strategies in their communities. It offers a neighborhood-centered perspective on GI that is tailored to work with the unique climate conditions of the southwestern US. The guide includes detailed, step-by-step approaches for designing, constructing, and maintaining GI practices that can be used to retrofit existing neighborhoods, including:

curb cuts and basins in right-of-ways
chicanes, medians and traffic circles
street width reductions
parking lots

Download this free resource (12MB pdf) - updated 9/16/10

Webinar Series on Green Infrastructure

Green Infrastructure Case Studies (February 2011) View the webinar here. See audience Q&A responses here.

Speakers from Tucson, AZ; Portland, OR; and Austin, TX addressed the different approaches their communities have taken to implement green infrastructure; as well as their successes, challenges, and next steps. Speakers included Dave Elkin, Landscape Architect with Greenworks (Portland), Mike Kelly, Civil Engineer - City of Austin, TX, and James MacAdam, Watershed Management Group - Green Streets Program Manager (Tucson). The program included a short introduction to green infrastructure concepts and practices, and a moderated Q&A with public participants.

Community-Based Green Infrastructure (April 27, 2011) View the webinar here.

Community-based case studies from Tucson, AZ, Baltimore, MD, and Vancouver, BC will cover the development of local leadership, implementation barriers, fostering innovation, and maintenance issues. Speakers will include Bryant Smith, Parks & People Foundation (Baltimore); Marty Dolan, Tupper Neighbourhood Greenway (Vancouver); and James MacAdam, Watershed Management Group (Tucson). A moderated Q&A and will be available to participants.

Green Infrastructure Design Standards

WMG worked with the City of Tucson’s Department of Transportation to develop design standards for in-street traffic calming devices that collect and infiltrate stormwater. Links to informational pamphlets that include technical and conceptual drawings of the specific application, as well as step-by-step implementation guidelines are below.

GI-1. Soil, mulch, and plants (info brochure) - updated 10/21/10
GI-2. curb cut methods and sediment trap (info brochure) - updated 10/21/10
GI-3. Rock-lined Basin, behind curb (info brochure; conceptual) - updated 10/21/10
GI-4. Shallow sloped basin - behind curb (info brochure; conceptual) - updated 10/21/10
GI-5. Chicane, in-street (info brochure; conceptual) - updated 10/21/10
GI-6. Street width reduction, in-street (info brochure; conceptual) - updated 10/21/10
GI-7. Traffic circle, intersection (info brochure; conceptual) - updated 10/21/10
GI-8. Center median, in-street (info brochure; conceptual) - updated 10/21/10

Green Streets Program - Video

This short (5 minute) video explains the benefits of using green infrastructure and how WMG advocates and implements these practices through educational workshops.

Rincon Heights Neighborhood (Tucson) green infrastructure bike/walk tour

Print out this pamphlet (1MB pdf) for a self-guided, ½ to 1-hour tour of an urban neighborhood that has been extensively retrofitted with a variety of green infrastructure practices.

Tucson wash and subwatershed maps

Do you know your local watershed? These large-format maps show the washes (normally dry rivers) that run throughout the Tucson basin, and their associated subwatersheds. The maps also show riparian habitat categorized under Pima County's Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, and provide basic information about the significance of washes and watersheds to our human and natural community.

These maps were produced by TerraSystems Southwest for Watershed Management Group, using data from Pima County and the City of Tucson.

Regional map (entire Tucson basin) (16MB file)