Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2017 - 35

ON SPEC

NEW MAYOR CAN BE CHAMPION
OF A RESILIENT, LIVEABLE CITY
BY DEBRA GUENTHER, FASLA, LEED AP BD+C, PARTNER, MITHUN

In the fall of 2017, a new mayor will be elected to represent the city of
Seattle, a rapidly changing metropolis nestled within the second largest
estuary in the country. The city's mayoral candidates can become strong
national voices for green infrastructure development as key to a healthy city
- a city that has an implementable resilience strategy.

A

ccording to the US Green Building Council (USGBC),
green infrastructure is any practice that uses or replicates
natural systems to achieve a desired outcome. Vegetated
roofs and green walls are key elements of these systems,
which can be integrated into larger constructed systems, bioretention and permeable pavement-utilizing soft solutions to
manage large quantities of water.
Early work in Washington state focused on improving water
quality for salmon under the federal Endangered Species Act.
It is now a given that green solutions are key to this recovery,
and also deliver many co-benefits that go beyond absorbing
polluted runoff, including flood control, air cleansing, moderating temperature. These solutions are also the building blocks
of a successful urban climate change mitigation and adaptation
strategy. This is the foundation of resilience: mitigation-the
ability to reduce flooding, heat impacts and water use; and
adaptation-the ability to respond and transform when surprise
disturbances occur, such as flooding, increased storm frequency
and droughts.
Large-scale green infrastructure is now being deployed as a
resiliency strategy to prevent coastal flooding of urban neighborhoods, increase aquatic biodiversity and strengthen social
connections through public participation. These innovative
projects address the social, economic and ecological systems
whose interdependence is essential to urban sustainability. With
a champion mayor, Seattle is poised to leverage its culture of innovation, entrepreneurship and environmentalism to contribute
to the national conversation on the role of green infrastructure
in building a resilient city.
LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM

Opportunities include:
* Develop a holistic story for the Puget Sound describing the multiple benefits of green infrastructure to developers and corporate
partners to encourage their investment
* Leverage and incentivize retrofit projects, for which green roofs
are key opportunities, to more rapidly reach the city's goal of
managing 750 million gallons of stormwater
* Continue to build on strong existing certification programs like
SITES and support regional examples like Salmon Safe, which
was been embraced by local developer Vulcan to certify their
urban projects with a focus on urban ecosystem health
* Include ecological and social resilience as critical elements in
conversations about liveability, affordability and density
The next mayor of Seattle will face many immediate demands, but
will also need a comprehensive strategy that addresses the many
challenges on the horizon. A robust green infrastructure framework can be foundation of a resilient Seattle.
Debra Guenther is a regular contributor to conversations on equity,
resilience and climate change at venues such as Greenbuild, Living
Futures, and the Urban Land Institute. Nationally recognized for
her leadership on green infrastructure and ecosystem service issues, she
was awarded the American Society of Landscape Architects President's
Medal in 2010. Debra will be speaking at the all new 'In the Design
Studio With...' session at CitiesAlive, September 18-21, 2017 in
Seattle, Washington.
LIVING
LIVING
ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE
MONITOR
MONITOR
/ SUMMER
/ FALL 2017 / 35
http://www.LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2017
