Green Infrastructure Capacity Building
The CNT Water program is providing technical assistance to community groups that seek to increase their ability to manage stormwater sustainably and cost-effectively. CNT is currently helping members of the Lower Eastside Action Plan (LEAP) of Detroit, Michigan, and the Toledo-Lucas County Sustainability Commission of Toledo, Ohio, use two CNT tools to quantify the benefits of green infrastructure and incorporate green infrastructure practices into their planning to mitigate flooding. CNT’s capacity building is designed to increase stakeholder knowledge of green infrastructure and to further stakeholder ability to communicate the importance of green infrastructure in a long-term, meaningful plan.
This technical assistance is made possible by a grant to Project for Pblic Spaces from the United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Sustainable Communities under the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program. The Building Blocks program funds quick, targeted assistance to communities that face common development problems.
The two CNT tools used by the Detroit and Toledo groups include:
- The Value of Green Infrastructure, which provides a step-by-step guide on how to put a quantitative price tag on qualitative benefits.
- The Green Values® National Stormwater Management Calculator, an online calculator that allows users to quickly compare the performance, costs, and benefits of Green Infrastructure, or Low Impact Development (LID), to conventional stormwater practices.
Program Contact
Ryan Wilson, Stormwater Program Manager
