Peeling back the Pavement - POLIS Water Sustainability Project

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58 Illustration: L. Carnes
CONCLUSION A BLUEPRINT TO CHANGE THE FUTURE The Rainwater City tells one possible tale of the future: cities grow and are retrofitted to have less concrete and minimize runoff, and use rain as a primary water supply. Ensuring that land and water management decisions are integrated and made on a watershed basis is key to making this story a reality. As the Blueprint for the Rainwater City demonstrates, correcting governance and making structural changes to government departments are important steps. The Rainwater City isn’t just a pipe(less) dream. Many cities across the world are already putting the principles of a Rainwater City into action by managing rainwater in concert with natural systems. Philadelphia, Portland, and Seattle are just some of the communities that are pioneering this path. In Canada, cities from coast to coast are also beginning to adopt innovative and more holistic approaches to managing wet weather, including Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax, and many other smaller communities in British Columbia and Ontario. However, the full vision of the Rainwater City has yet to be realized. No community in Canada has yet managed to incorporate all the elements necessary to catalyze a new era of designing with nature and water-centric municipal planning. No community is truly built around using rain as a resource—at least not yet. For the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population lives in cities. How our cities grow, how we build and retrofit neighbourhoods, how we provide housing, how we choose to get around, how well we incorporate nature into Transitioning to a Rainwater City does not mean doing old things better. It means fundamentally shifting our relationship with water in our daily lives. the places we live, and how we make collective decisions will largely determine our future. In cities, the way in which rain and snowfall are managed is fundamental to determining how the urban ecosystem will interact with the natural water cycle. Transitioning to a Rainwater City does not mean doing old things better. It means fundamentally shifting our relationship with water in our daily lives. It requires us to see rain differently, break old habits, think and act on new design principles, and harness the full spectrum of nature’s services in our cities. Achieving this new future will mean a shift towards accommodating nature’s water needs and fully understanding and considering the impacts our actions have on water. It will require innovation in planning and redevelopment, integration of land and water use, and a clear priority to ensure watershed function. By considering the needs of the natural environment, we can ensure that our communities continue to thrive and prosper. The transition to a Rainwater City is no longer an unattainable vision. It is a necessity. 59
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Peeling back the pavement A Bluepri
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Key messages ➤ In the natural env
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introduction A Tale of two cities P
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About the handbook: MOVING FORWARD
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Photo: Capital Regional District, B
Page 11 and 12: RAINWATER CITY PERMEABLE SURFACES I
Page 13 and 14: PRoblem 1 “CONCRETE JUNGLES”: D
Page 15 and 16: PRoblem 2 RAINWATER DOWN THE DRAIN:
Page 17 and 18: Photo: P. Lynch Flooding due to sto
Page 19 and 20: Photo: www.drainsofmycity.com In so
Page 21 and 22: The transformation of a Stormwater
Page 23 and 24: Green Infrastructure Practices Cons
Page 25 and 26: Principle 3: New Governance: An Int
Page 27 and 28: BOX 4: VALUING PROPERLY FUNCTIONING
Page 29 and 30: Illustrations: L. Carnes Transition
Page 31 and 32: HOW TO USE THE BLUEPRINTS The follo
Page 33 and 34: let rain do the work watershed gove
Page 35 and 36: and focus for local government ince
Page 37 and 38: CASE STUDY 1 HALIFAX SHOWS five REA
Page 39 and 40: Repair and Replace Obsolete Drainag
Page 41 and 42: CASE STUDY 3 PHILADELPHIA THINKS BI
Page 43 and 44: Department of Transportation and Pu
Page 45 and 46: Blueprint principle 2: let rain do
Page 47 and 48: CASE STUDY 5 RAIN AS A NEW SOURCE D
Page 49 and 50: on both sides of the street. Street
Page 51 and 52: water supplies, and flooding all re
Page 53 and 54: Photo: R. J. Frith Integrate Land a
Page 55: Establish Multidisciplinary Departm
Page 58 and 59: 54 CASE STUDY 7 PROGRESSIVE LEGISLA
Page 60 and 61: CASE STUDY 8 THE BOWKER CREEK INITI
Page 64 and 65: 60 appendix leading thinking and pr
Page 66 and 67: 13. Although the Fisheries Act does
Page 68 and 69: 41. See for example, Brandes, O.M.,
Page 70 and 71: Stratus Consulting Inc. (2009, Augu
Page 72: POLIS Project on Ecological Governa
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Peeling back the Pavement - POLIS Water Sustainability Project

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