Evaluation of Natural Green Infrastructure for Watershed Planning in the City of Atlanta

摘要

Preservation of greenspace can provide a wide range of environmental, social, and economic benefits to the urban environment. The importance of green spaces such as urban forests, wetlands, and greenways is increasing because of the expansion of urban land. The City of Atlanta is committed to a resilient and sustainable future for its citizens. As a result, city leadership is embracing a more holistic approach to protecting water quality and watershed health, supplementing traditional gray infrastructure systems with innovative green infrastructure (GI) solutions to manage stormwater at its source. Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management (DWM) has a history of greenspace acquisition as a means to safeguard the City's waterways from the impacts of stormwater, creating a network of "natural green infrastructure (GI)." DWM has recently completed Watershed Improvement Plans (WIPs) to identify and prioritize engineered green infrastructure opportunities throughout the city. In an effort to expand the incorporation of natural GI into this watershed planning process, DWM has subsequently developed a Preservation Toolset which includes: a Preservation Evaluation Tool used to assign an evaluation score to a particular area of preservation or restoration interest, and a watershed model used to understand the water quality benefits provided by natural GI and the City's tree canopy.