Growing Green Infrastructure Forums
Meeting dates and topics:
- May 16: Overcoming Barriers and Coordinating GI in Washtenaw County
- June 5: Economics and Funding of GI: Quantifying the Benefits; Acquiring the Cash
- June 26: Green Infrastructure Maintenance and Management: From Questions to Action
All meetings are scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM. Meeting agendas, speaker lists and other details will be posted here as they become available. Watch this page!
Washtenaw County has been a leader in LID projects throughout the state. Ann Arbor and some of the surrounding townships have developed pilot and education projects and have instituted some innovative policies and programs to support LID. The Washtenaw County Water Resource Commissioner has led the way among Michigan drain commissioners toward a more sustainable system of addressing stormwater.
Yet, on the whole, LID has been implemented opportunistically throughout Washtenaw County; the broader concept of GI does not exist yet in practice throughout the county. This situation persists in spite of the fact that GI is often championed by Washtenaw County entities.
Why?
If the benefits of GI over grey infrastructure are recognized, why is GI planning not happening on a larger scale or at a faster pace? What barriers stand in the way? That is the question that HRWC posed to begin planning and encouraging broader GI implementation. Through literature review and interviews with multiple county entities, we found a number of barriers to GI planning in Washtenaw County. These barriers, along with strategies for overcoming the barriers, will be published in Spring, 2013. Review the draft summary now.
In May of 2013, we will begin our Growing Green Infrastructure Forums with our partners throughout the county to collectively discover ways around the barriers. The meetings will be held at the New Center in Ann Arbor. They are open to agencies and organizations that have something to add to the conversation. Please join us.
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