Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 5-2011 Urban Design and Stormwater Management: An Integrated Approach to Public Hardscape Design Jared Draper Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Draper, Jared, "Urban Design and Stormwater Management: An Integrated Approach to Public Hardscape Design" (2011). All Theses. 1084. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1084 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. URBAN DESIGN AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO PUBLIC HARDSCAPE DESIGN A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of City and Regional Planning by Jared Barton Draper May 2011 Accepted by: Dr. Cliff Ellis, Committee Chair Dr. Caitlin Dyckman Dr. Bradley Putman AbstrAct Among the hierarchy of motivations, Maslow identifies the social as one of the levels that generates drive in individuals (Maslow, 1970). The urban environment is a place that has great opportunity for social interaction with design and planning of public spaces. Public spaces serve an important function in society and the design of these spaces can attract or repel a population. As specific elements are incorporated in public space and especially public hardscape design, designers should not neglect the issue of sustainability. According to the Brundtland Commission, sustainability includes the “policies and strategies that meet society’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission of Environment and Development, 1987). Implementation of public spaces can provide for the current and future population’s need for social interaction. In planning and designing these spaces the protection of natural resources must be considered for posterity. The urban built environment has had enormous impacts on the natural world. Multiple cities across the United States operate with a combined sewer and wastewater system. Use of this type of combined system creates the risk of overflow of polluted stormwater and untreated sewage into local rivers and streams during heavier rains (Paul & Meyer, 2001). Pollution alone due to runoff can be detrimental to the ecosystems that depend on local water bodies, but the additional risk of combined sewer systems and the dangers ii that can result in larger storms presents the question of what steps can be done to reconcile the urban environment with the preexisting natural world? Designers must consider factors such as stormwater runoff when creating buildings, streets and public spaces. Through water quality policies, enacted by the EPA, regulations have been written and implemented to reduce the pollution that is discharged into local water bodies. Stormwater management practices have been developed to not only reduce runoff, but treat the water as well. However, there is more than can be done with public spaces and their design to recreate natural hydrological conditions while creating an attractive and vibrant place. The impacts of impervious surfaces and stormwater have eye-opening consequences. According to the King County, Washington stormwater services, stormwater impacts include contamination of local waterbodies, killing fish and harming wildlife, flooding, and potential groundwater shortages due to impervious surface (King County, 2010). Technology has improved and impervious surface materials have become porous pavements. This literature review will attempt to identify the state of the art in respect to public hardscape design, building materials and stormwater management practices. It is the goal of this research to discover how a new, more sustainable public hardscape can become the standard for design through the integration of stormwater management practices, effective use of permeable materials and thoughtful design. iii DeDicAtion I wish to dedicate this Thesis to my parents and and my soon to be wife. To my parents, thank you for your support in pursuing graduate school. I appreciate how you have influenced me to always strive for excellence in everything that I do. Thank you for encouraging me to learn but also for teaching me valuable lessons that I would never have learned in a classroom. To my soon to be wife, Lizzy, thank you for your encouragement during the times that this research was difficult and the end seemed far away. Thank you for believing in what I was capable of and knowing that what I was doing was important, even when I might not have seen it. I dedicate this work to you. iv AcknowleDgments I would like to extend a thank you to my committee for all of the help that they provided during this process. Thank you for supporting my research and allowing me the freedom to spend my time investigating something that I am passionate about. A special thanks, also, to my classmates for the encouragement when research and writing was difficult. It has been a blessing to work with all of you and to bounch ideas off of one another as we prepare to enter the planning field. v tAble of contents title PAge ................................................................................................. i AbstrAct .................................................................................................. ii DeDicAtion ............................................................................................. iv AcknowleDgments ................................................................................. v list of tAbles ......................................................................................... xi list of Pictures .................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................1 I: Problem Statement ....................................................................................1 II: Background ................................................................................................2 III: Research Questions ...................................................................................3 IV: Objectives ...................................................................................................4 V: Purpose .......................................................................................................4 CHAPTER 2: COMBINED SEWER SYSTEMS ....................6 I: Combined Sewer Systems ........................................................................6 II: Combined Sewer Overflow .....................................................................6 III: Reducing the Burden on CSS ..................................................................7 CHAPTER 3: HARDSCAPE DESIGN ...................................9 I: Introduction ...............................................................................................9 II: History ......................................................................................................10 III: Public Space/Public Realm/Public Domain ......................................11 IV: What is a hardscape ................................................................................12 V: Social Character .......................................................................................13 VI: Public Space Social Needs......................................................................14 A). Comfort ...............................................................................................14 vi B). Relaxation ...........................................................................................15 C). Engagement ........................................................................................16 VII: Public Space Social Rights .....................................................................17 A). Access ..................................................................................................17 B). Freedom of Action .............................................................................18 C). Change ................................................................................................19 VIII: Physical Design .......................................................................................20 A). Portal ...................................................................................................22 B). Enclosure ............................................................................................23 i). Building Height ...........................................................................23 ii). Building Continuity ....................................................................24 C). Seating .................................................................................................25 D). Access ..................................................................................................25 E). Lighting ...............................................................................................26 F). Vegetation and Trees .........................................................................27 IX: Conclusion ...............................................................................................27 CHAPTER 4: STORMWATER