Stormwater Management in Southeast Detroit: Adaptive and Contextually Informed Green Infrastructure Strategies

This master’s project focuses on the planning, analysis, and design of contextually informed green infrastructure strategies for adaptive stormwater management in Detroit. The city has observed significant population loss over the last half century, which puts a strain on the tax base required for the upkeep of stormwater and other key infrastructure services. Aging combined sewer systems in need of maintenance combined with increases in the frequency of extreme storm events related to climate change create a scenario in which finding an adaptive solution to stormwater management is becoming progressively more important. The Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood is located in Detroit’s Lower Eastside and serves as the central study area for this project. The study aims to develop a suite of planning and design concepts for a network of site-based green infrastructure strategies for stormwater management that take advantage of Detroit’s vacant land. Our approach is to create a networked system of a diverse array of green infrastructure stormwater controls. Stormwater management strategies are informed by the surrounding landscape context and respond to site-based opportunities and limitations. Primary research methods include GIS-based hydrologic modeling and studies of Detroit’s combined sewer infrastructure, vacancy data, innovative green infrastructure strategies, and community stabilization plans. A small set of design concepts specific to the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood were also developed to illustrate actionable stormwater management strategies.Master of Science Master of Landscape ArchitectureNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106566/1/2014 Master Project 701-242.pd