Landscape Architect

Modern art adds a playful twist to a roof scupper drain.

Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) lie on the cusp between industrial stormwater management and landscape design. The dual nature of these systems encourages participation from and collaboration between many disciplines to facilitate successful implementation of stormwater management projects. As a landscape architect, you bring an understanding of how people interact with natural areas and an understanding that water can be treated as a resource, not just a waste product to be shunted off-site and into the stormwater infrastructure.

What can you do to encourage the use of best management practices?

As you develop your own projects and collaborate on other projects, consider how BMPs can be incorporated into the site design. Look for ways to reconnect the natural hydrologic cycle, incorporate community amenities into open space designs, and increase the amount and type of habitat available for wildlife.

Next Steps

Take a look at some of the case studies to see examples of how BMPs have been integrated into projects in other areas. Think about how you might be able to bring such changes to your own projects. The planning and development aids page provides several resources to help you incorporate BMPs into project designs. Additional information, such as cost and effectiveness data, can be found in the resource links section.

The following resources may be of particular interest:

• Basic Principles (PDF, 42K)
• Benefits of Green Development (PDF, 153K)
• BMPs From Start to Finish (PDF, 89K)
• When Does Green Infrastructure Make Sense? (PDF, 63K)
• Design Considerations (PDF, 65K)
• Metrics and Measurement (PDF, 88K)
• Myths and Misconceptions (PDF, 42K)
• Overcoming Obstacles (PDF, 52K)
• The Language of Change (PDF, 51K)
• What Makes a Project Successful? (PDF, 61K)

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