2018 Annual WASLA Conference

Motif Seattle, March 16, 2018

11:00 am - 12:00 pm
The Challenges and Potential of Designing with and for Urban Stormwater

Description:

Stormwater mitigation is an essential reality of urban site development. The field is awash with regional municipal codes and policies, and resulting "best practices," focused on mitigating the impacts of stormwater on infrastructure and ultimately Puget Sound. A series of case studies of recent public, institutional and mixed-use developments and panel discussion will demonstrate the evolution of practice within this medium and identify the hurdles to furthering our knowledge. This session highlights successful collaborative landscape architecture and civil engineering strategies for stormwater mitigation and flushes out potential future changes to stormwater code and mitigation technologies.

Lead Speaker:

Nancy Chan

Speaker Bios:

Nancy Chan, Landscape Designer, HEWITT
Nancy Chan uses urbanist design, placemaking principles, and systems-thinking design to develop vibrant landscape designs relative to spatial and social dynamics within South Lake Union and Denny Triangle.

Jake Woland, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, HEWITT
With 18 years of experience as a landscape architect and urban designer, Jake Woland leads design teams towards innovative concepts focused on the unique possibilities of dense, urban spaces. His passion lies in bringing design craft to green infrastructure.

Molly Freed, Policy Coordinator
Molly supports the Institute’s policy program initiatives by identifying policy barriers and providing resources, research, toolkits, education, and advocacy to remove these obstacles. Her expertise lies specifically in innovative water reuse policy. She also coordinates the Institute’s Affordable Housing work with pilot teams around the country. Molly has a BA in Environmental Analysis with a Minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies from Scripps College in Claremont, CA. 

Learning Objectives:

Participants will learn more about: The “What?”: case studies of the recent evolution of PNW urban stormwater mitigation design, on public and private property The “How?”: How code currently looks at stormwater management, the benefits and limitations in urban design. The “Why?” and the “What If?”: The possible near future changes to stormwater management design in technology and approach, including what is driving the changes and identifying the barriers to progress.