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Designing Wetlands as an Essential Infrastructural Element for Urban Development in the era of Climate Change

Author

Listed:
  • Changwoo Ahn

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA)

  • Stephanie Schmidt

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA)

Abstract

The increasing development of urban infrastructure has led to the significant loss of natural wetlands and their ecosystem services. Many novel urban development projects currently attempt to incorporate environmental sustainability, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and community engagement into the intricate challenges we all face in an era of climate change. This paper aims to communicate several key findings on design elements that can be adopted or incorporated in the design of created wetlands as infrastructural elements. Three major design elements—microtopography, hydrologic connectivity, and planting diversity—are presented, and their relations to restoring ecosystem services of urban wetlands, in particular water and habitat quality, are discussed. These design elements can be easily adopted or incorporated in the planning, designing, and construction stages of urban development. The success of urban infrastructure projects may require both better communication among stakeholders and a great deal of community engagement. The Rain Project, a floating wetland project on an urban college campus, demonstrates the role of interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement as a model for sustainable stormwater management, a critical part of today’s urban development. Further efforts should be made to advance the science of designing urban wetlands and its communication to transform cultural attitudes toward sustainable urban development.

Suggested Citation

  • Changwoo Ahn & Stephanie Schmidt, 2019. "Designing Wetlands as an Essential Infrastructural Element for Urban Development in the era of Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-10, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:7:p:1920-:d:218673
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brendan McAndrew & Changwoo Ahn & Joanna Spooner, 2016. "Nitrogen and Sediment Capture of a Floating Treatment Wetland on an Urban Stormwater Retention Pond—The Case of the Rain Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-14, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kathryn Ledford & Stephanie Ann Schmidt & Changwoo Ahn, 2022. "Assessing Carbon Storage Potential of Forested Wetland Soils in Two Physiographic Provinces of Northern Virginia, USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Emma Salizzoni & Rocío Pérez-Campaña & Fernando Alcalde-Rodríguez & Ruben Talavera-Garcia, 2020. "Local Planning Practice towards Resilience: Insights from the Adaptive Co-Management and Design of a Mediterranean Wetland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-17, April.
    3. Adriana A. Zuniga-Teran & Andrea K. Gerlak, 2019. "A Multidisciplinary Approach to Analyzing Questions of Justice Issues in Urban Greenspace," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-22, May.
    4. Erqi Xu & Yimeng Chen, 2019. "Modeling Intersecting Processes of Wetland Shrinkage and Urban Expansion by a Time-Varying Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-24, September.
    5. Yu-Chi Chen & Chun-Han Shih, 2019. "Sustainable Management of Coastal Wetlands in Taiwan: A Review for Invasion, Conservation, and Removal of Mangroves," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Pavithra Ganeshu & Terrence Fernando & Kaushal Keraminiyage, 2023. "Barriers to, and Enablers for, Stakeholder Collaboration in Risk-Sensitive Urban Planning: A Systematised Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-24, March.

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