Reconnecting Water, Soils, and Vegetation: Green Infrastructure in the Urban Environment

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) can restore healthy waterways and revitalize urban communities but requires a multi-disciplinary design approach informed by ecology, community, engineering, and long-term maintenance.

This presentation will explore several case studies of successful GSI projects in Philadelphia, focusing on examples of community engagement and ecological restoration to successfully improve water quality and healthy neighborhoods. Philadelphia’s long-term stormwater and combined sewer overflow plan, Green Cities Clean Waters, is a national model for GSI implementation in economically challenged urban areas.

Julie Snell, ISA, has worked closely with city agencies, corporations, volunteers, and other nonprofit entities to advise on the daily operations of the landscapes under their purview. Her work at TEND Landscape, primarily in the public realm, focuses on the bridge between design and landscape management. As founder and co-chair of the Landscape Management Forum, she has forged a partnership with landscape managers from arboreta, public gardens and campus landscape throughout the Philadelphia region. Since 2013, Ms. Snell is also an adjunct instructor for “Green vs. Gray: Improving and Sustaining Urban Ecosystems” at Temple University in the Department Landscape Architecture Speaker Biographies and Horticulture. She earned a Master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, is a certified arborist, accredited organic land care professional, and a founding principal of TEND landscape inc.

Michele Adams, PE LEED AP, is a Water Resources Engineer and founder of Meliora Design. Her work focuses on sustainability, green infrastructure, and engineering designs informed by ecology, including many LEED and SITES certified projects. She was one of the authors of the Pennsylvania Stormwater Manual as well as the NYC High Performance Landscape Guidelines, and currently serves on the USGBC Sustainable Sites Committee (SS TAG), as well as American Rivers Science and Technical Advisory Committee. Recent projects include the Philadelphia KidZooU, Shoemaker Plaza at the University of Pennsylvania, the Stroud Water Research Environmental Education Center, and the Meadow Expansion at Longwood Gardens.”

Log in to your Membership account to watch the replay or become a member to gain access