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Strategies
An integrated design team includes all the key players at the beginning of the process to tap the common knowledge of the team and to look for synergies. The end result of a well integrated design team is that we create projects where very few items can be removed from the project because everything included in the project does more than one thing and all relevant team members have taken advantage of those synergies to provide the greenest project on the available budget.
More on the integrated design team process.
Costs
- early planning charrettes and workshops
- varying levels of input from entire design team from Day 1
Benefits
- early insights provided to reduce costs by taking advantage of synergistic benefits
- very little value engineering (i.e. everything in the project does more than one thing and cannot be eliminated without affecting the functioning of another system)
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Strategies
- Choose locally made materials over materials shipped from far away
- Choose durable materials
- Choose lightweight over heavy materials when they do have to shipped from far away
- Avoid PVC pipe. Instead choose:
- Polyethylene
- High density polyethylene
- Concrete
- Ductile iron
- Copper
- Anything else
- Stay away from PVC liners. Instead choose:
- Polyethylene
- Bentonite mats
- Choose deconstructable materials
- Choose materials that do not have potential to leach into ground water. Examples to avoid: galvanized metal (leaches out in acidic water conditions), copper products, application of chemicals for moss control, coal tar sealants for asphalt.
Costs
- A little extra time researching where you can buy what
Benefits
- Reduce GHG footprint
- Reduce toxins
- Provide jobs to your neighbors who could then become your customers
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Strategies
- Develop a plan that reuses resources in place
- Re-purpose previously disturbed areas
- Avoid sensitive areas.
- Reduce excavation.
- Limit compaction.
- Avoid building in areas that provide habitat for threatened and endangered species.
- Don't build in the floodplain, in wetlands, too close to waterways, or too close to coastal shorelines.
- Don't build on prime farmland or other significant soils.
- Build on gray or brownfields.
- Plan for transportation.
- To cross a stream with a utility, align it across a bridge or in casing above the stream instead of boring underneath the stream to bury it.
- Align utilities together in the same trench.
- Save a tree
Costs
- Working and designing around existing infrastructure
Benefits
- Saves natural resources
- Reduce the cost of:
- Tipping fees
- Excavation & compaction
- Tree removal and processing
- Mitigation
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Strategies
- Crush concrete on-site to be used as fill.
- Crush aggregate on-site and re-use it to build another impervious surface (with the proper machinery).
- Trees and vegetation to be removed can be mulched and used for erosion control during construction and then again as soil amendments during landscaping.
Costs
- Extra time to carefully deconstruct , clean and/or process existing materials
- Different specifications for reusing (ie. crushed concrete for fill)
Benefits
- Saves natural resources
- Reduce the cost of:
- Tipping fees
- Shipping
- Buying new materials
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Strategies
- Ship asphalt & concrete off-site to be crushed and used at another site.
- Deconstruct a structure by hand and you can re-use on average 85% of the salvaged materials. This pencils out financially more for wood-frame than concrete or block buildings, but can be done for either. As materials are salvaged by the contractor, each item is photographed and logged. A third party certifier assigns value to the salvage material and assuming that the items are donated to a non-profit, like Rebuilding or Re-store, the developer/owner can take a tax deduction that generally covers the cost of the labor associated with deconstruction services. Usually, the cost that's left is about the same as the tipping and recycling fees.
Additional Resources
Costs
- Scheduling can be tricky. It usually takes about 6 weeks to deconstruct a typical house, but it varies from type of and size of the structure.
- Hire a third party to document and assess value of salvaged materials
- Manage tax implications
Benefits
- Saves natural resources
- Reduce the cost of:
- Tipping fees
- Shipping
- Buying new material
- Creates jobs and keeps money local
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| Recycle Construction Materials |
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Strategies
- In Portland, construction contractors have been successfully recycling a large percentage of their materials with pre-separated (less expensive) and mixed bins (more expensive since someone else is sorting the material).
Additional Resources
Costs
- Pre-construction meeting to coordinate intent with subs
- Ongoing field training
- Signage
- Pickup
Benefits
- Reduce the cost of:
- Save natural resources
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| Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
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Strategies
- Orient long side of building on east-west axis. (With deciduous trees planted on the south, this can reduce energy demand by 40%.)
- Plant deciduous trees on the south sides of buildings
- Order trash and recycling pick up when bins are full instead of on a regular basis
- Plan to encourage walking
- Specify low-grow native seed mixes instead of high maintenance lawn. Lawnmowers spew way more crud into the air than a gas guzzling car.
- Plant trees with microclimates in mind to reduce the energy demand of the building.
- Plant vegetation or shade air conditioners.
Additional Resources
Landscaping for Energy Efficiency by the National Renewable Energy Lab
Cleaner Air: Gas Mower Pollution Facts. and unless you're buying green power, electric lawnmowers aren't an exciting alternative.
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Strategies
- Compost berms
- Compost socks
- Compost blankets
Additional Resources
Costs
- Maintenance (not any more than other EC BMPs)
- Compost berm can be created with a bobcat or by blowing it in place
- Lack of familiarity
Benefits
- No trenching, compaction, construction, or disposal
- Easier to maintain than sediment fences
- Much better protection against turbid waters leaving the site
- Compost can be spread over site when project is done instead of disposing of sediment fence
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| Source Control-Filter Sacks |
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Strategies
- Biobags get knocked out of place too easily.
- Couple this with a compost sock or berm so that turbidity in addition to larger sedimend and trash is removed (at least until these get knocked out of place).
Costs
- Maintain it to keep it clean or a clogged filter sack will flood the street
Benefits
- Easier to maintain than biobags
- Much better protection against polluted waters leaving the site
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See the prototype BMP page, Save a Tree, for my proposed online tool, Sustainable Land Development Resources for Design & Deliverables. It's chock full of great info.
Additional Resources:
Green from the Ground Up Fact Sheet: Tree planting and retaining vegetation |
| Overland Flow/Daylighting |
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Strategies
- Allow runoff to spend as much time outdoors as possible before entering a pipe. To keep it on the surface, use a combination of trench drains (to cross parking lots and sidewalks), swales/ditches, and runnels. Don't concentrate runoff with curbs or other structures until absolutely necessary.
Costs
- Vegetation or other material to finish off swale look (not mulch – it floats!)
- Splash blocks/outfalls
- Check dams
- Liners near footings (30 mil polyethylene or bentonite clay)
- Extra design and construction considerations
Benefits
- Reduces the cost of:
- Excavation and compaction of pipe trench
- Pipe installation
- Eliminates the cost of
- Slows, treats and cools the flow
- Contributes to biodiversity
- Fish habitat
- Animal passage
- Native plants
- Increases infiltration & evaporation
- Can be an amenity
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Strategies
- Protect on-site resources
- Define construction operations in plans and with fencing on-site to protect trees and other sensitive areas
- Re-purpose previously disturbed areas
- Grade carefully to save trees
- Limit compaction by reducing areas of fill and defining construction operations
- Reduce areas of fill in design phase
- Amend fill with compost
- Use track equipment
- "Deep subsoil compaction is permanent and should be avoided at all costs. This can be done by keeping axle loads below 10 tons, and preferably below 6 tons.
- Compaction in the topsoil can be avoided by reducing tire pressure, using flotation tires, doubles, radial tires, or
tracks, and by employing large-diameter tires.
- Reducing the number of trips over the field and reducing the total area per acre actually traveled are recommended.
- Driving
on soil that is wetter than the plastic limit should be avoided at all times."1
Additional Resources
Costs
- Pre-construction meeting to coordinate intent with subs
- Compost
Benefits
- Less disturbed area to restore later
- Less stormwater runoff to manage
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Strategies
- Reduce road widths (10’ drive aisles calm traffic)
- Reduce parking ratios
- Share parking and driveways
- Design single side sidewalks
- Minimize the parking space dimensions.
- Reduce setbacks.
- Reduce cul-de-sac dimensions.
- Minimize the building footprint.
Additional Resources
EPA's Parking Spaces/Community Places: Finding a Balance Through Smart Growth Solutions
Smart Parking Guidelines from the State of Massachusetts Costs
- Could have a big fight about standards with your Planning Dept
Benefits
- Protect natural resources
- Reduce the heat island effect
- We reduce the cost to install:
- Pavement
- Utilities infrastructure
- Stormwater management
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Strategies
- Set aside a high value portion of the land to be preserved in perpetuity
- Wetlands
- Uplands
- Rare geological formation
- Habitat
- Meadows
- & more
- Place conservation easement over property
- Work with a land trust
Additional Resources
Costs
- Extra paperwork:
- Land trust
- Easement
- Federal & state tax credits
- Natural resource assessment
Benefits
- Federal tax credits: up to 50% of your adjusted gross income for 15 years!
- Easier to sell since developments like these have been found to appreciate faster
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Strategies
- Asphalt
- Concrete
- Pavers
- Flexible Paving Systems
- Gravel
- Aggregate
- Turf
- Soft porous surfaces
- Decks & Boardwalks
Additional Resources
- It can be used:
- In very cold climates
- on soils with low infiltration rates
- under trees
- Easily in areas where there’s at least 24” of soil between the pavement section and bedrock
- In areas where there’s at least 36” of soil between the pavement section and the water table
- In limestone bedrock areas
- It’s generally not allowed:
- Where slopes exceed 10%
- In possible spill areas
- In contaminated soils
Costs
- Pre-construction meeting to coordinate with subs
- Managing the materials specifications
- Protecting against compaction
- Cleaning base rock
- Design fees may be higher due to perception of this as a “new” technology
Benefits
- We practically eliminate:
- Pipes
- Detention basins
- Water quality facilities
- Catch basins
- Manholes
- Excavation
- Compaction
- Frees up more land for development
- Increased durability
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| Vegetated Infiltration Facilities |
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Costs
- Mulch
- Vegetation
- Land area
Benefits
- Biodiversity
- Water Quality
- Water Quantity
- We reduce the cost of:
- Pipes
- Detention basins
- Water quality facilities
- Catch basins
- Manholes
- Excavation
- Compaction
Additional Resources
SPROut Soak It Up Raingarden Class Resources from Green Girl & Derek Godwin of OSU Extension Service. |
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Additional Resources
“Species are facing modern extinction rates due to human disturbances that are estimated to be 100 to 1000 times as high as background historical rates.”
B. Primack, Essentials of Conservation Biology
“Habitat loss & introducing invasive species are the two main vehicles of these extinctions.”
Wilcove et al., Quantifying threats to imperiled species in the United States
Native plants are usually:
- Cheaper to maintain since
- they do not require irrigation after establishment
- Require less or no fertilizer
- Are more resistant to drought
- Grow faster
Choose a plant: Clean Water Services Native Plant Finder (Portland region)
Design assistance (homeowners): EMSWCD Naturescaping (Portland region)
Design assistance (developers): Metro Nature in Neighborhoods (Portland region)
Find a nursery: Native Plant Nursery Database (national)
Costs
- Finding sources
- Finding knowledgeable folks (Landscape architects won’t necessarily know about native plants!)
Benefits
- Biodiversity
- Grow faster
- We reduce the cost of:
- Water demand and maintenance for establishment
- Fertilizer
- Replacement due to drought resistance
- long term maintenance
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| Underground Injection Control |
 -$ |
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See ODEQ website on UICs
Costs
Benefits
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Additional Resources
Portland BES Ecoroof page
Cost to Benefit study from Portland's BES
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| Coming soon... |
| Incentives & Certifications |
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Incentives
Certifications
Certifications in the Process of Development
Do you know of others? Email me!
Costs
- Cost of certification
- Benefits
- Market the daylight out of it to get your money back on certification
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- Current statistics and trends
- Knowledge of best practices
- Community resources such as demonstration sites
- Access to experts from industry, government and Nonprofits who could talk to their students
- Online resources; book recommendations
- Service learning activities
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Download a pdf of this presentation
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