Guyanese Online

Green Design Has More Impact When Local Residents Are Involved in the Planning Process
Sunday, 03 January 2016 – By Eilís O’Neill, Earth Island Journal | Report

New York City Boroughs Map – Click to enlarge

Raindrops are falling slow and heavy on the concrete walkways, children’s playgrounds, and brick, V-shaped apartment buildings of the Bronx River Houses, one of New York City’s largest housing projects. But today’s rain won’t slide off the roofs, walkways, and hard-packed lawns into the Bronx River across the street. Instead, it will gather in the project’s bioswales, rain gardens, enhanced tree pits, and blue roofs, which together can capture 32,000 gallons of water.

Unlike the monotonous lawns and ordered trees that characterize the landscaping here and at other housing projects, the rain gardens add a splash of yellow, a spray of white flowers, and an explosion of bushiness. “With the installation of the rain gardens came a lot more foliage which brightens up the area,” says David Shuffler, who grew up four blocks from here. Shuffler works with many residents of the Bronx River Houses in his role as executive director of the Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, headquartered across the street. “People enjoy how it looks. It adds a lot of color,” he says.  

The Bronx River Houses’ rain gardens and blue roof are a pilot project for a $2.4-billion green infrastructure program New York City will roll out over the next 15 years. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has already installed 250 smaller projects, such as bioswales and rain gardens, on streets and sidewalks in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It also has worked with the New York Housing Authority and the Parks Department to retrofit 10 public properties, including the Bronx River Houses, to better capture runoff. Thousands more such projects are in the works.

Read more: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34265-green-design-has-more-impact-when-local-residents-are-involved-in-the-planning-process