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ZERO INFRASTRUCTURE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
Description:
Man's historical inability to manage water resources has effectively led to shortages and the degradation of this precious resource, upon which all aspects of life and society rely. Traditional stormwater management in Florida represents a major obstacle to achieving the goals of sustainability. Current stormwater management practices contribute to surface water pollution, erosion, flooding, and habitat destruction. The challenge of this research is to create and test alternative design approaches that eliminate the need for traditional stormwater infrastructure. The research team will compare the costs and benefits of traditional stormwater management to alternative designs for on-site, community scale affordable housing developments. Through collaboration with partners, such as the Neighborhood Housing and Development Corporation and the Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing, graduate students will conduct the proposed research. The research will be an integral part of the curriculum of the Fall 2005 Principles of Sustainable Development and Construction and the Spring 2006 Construction Ecology and Metabolism course at the University of Florida. The course instructor, also the director of the Powell Center for Construction and the Environment, will guide several research teams in developing and testing alternative design strategies. Students in this course come from diverse fields of study, such as Building Construction, Architecture, Ecology, Environmental Science, and Engineering. The focus of the research will be the creation of alternative design strategies that address the need for effective stormwater control while achieving a more sustainable community. Criteria for meeting this goal will include cost effectiveness, hydrologic integrity, integration of community with nature, and aesthetics. Implementation strategies will then be developed through collaboration with the partnership organizations. The research hopes to verify the potential of on-site, community-scale stormwater management as a cost-effective alternative to traditional stormwater management practices in Florida.