Green infrastructure planning at the community level is explored through a description of the development and implementation of a natural resources plan for the Village of Glenview, a Chicago suburb. The plan grew from previous investments in natural resources, such as zoning and ordinance protection and the redevelopment of a 1,121-acre naval air station in the village. Projects originating from the plan have included streambank stabilizations, detention basin naturalizations, rain gardens, remeandering and naturalization of a reach of the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River, and public outreach efforts. Keys to the plan's creation and implementation to date include official incorporation of a politically sophisticated Natural Resources Commission into local government, thorough ecological assessment of existing natural resources, grant funding and political viability due to the coincidence of habitat- and water-quality improvement goals, consistency with regional plans, peer recognition, and efforts to secure public acceptance through private landowner incentives, volunteer workdays, and communications campaigns. Barriers to full implementation include diverse public and private ownership of desirable natural resources, limited funding for natural resources capital projects, and an implementation plan not officially adopted by the village board of trustees.

Environmental Practice 14:1–10 (2012)

Flooding risks in the Netherlands have been a high priority for decades because of its high population density, proximity to the North Sea, and extensive use of land reclamation techniques. With confounding factors such as climate and land-use changes, the Dutch water boards, governments, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), local farmers, and private citizens are addressing the vulnerabilities related to increasing flood risks by improving the resilience of the natural and social systems. Based on an existing framework of important governance regime characteristics, we explore how local groups work toward a more sustainable situation by producing synergetic win-win situations, constructive and cooperative planning and implementation, and the development of a high level of trust.

Environmental Practice 14:1–9 (2012)

The success of urban salt marsh restoration depends upon an understanding of the local tidal regime and hydrologic conditions. Reference wetland characteristics can provide biological and physical restoration baselines for a restoration design through the use of techniques such as bio-benchmarking and geomorphologic assessment. Reference site vegetation can be used as indirect indicators of local tidal elevations and duration of flooding of each tidal zone. Reference sites can also provide landscape allometry to generate geomorphologic ratios that can be applied to the restoration site. Through the use of field measurements, aerial photographs, and GIS technology, relationships can be identified for tidal channel width, depth, diurnal tidal prism, and marsh area. Calculating a hydrologic budget for freshwater is critical to estimate salinity concentrations and their effect on the restoration wetland. This information, along with field measurements of salinity, can be used to predict salinity ranges resulting from the interaction of freshwater sources and will help determine the target vegetation communities. Preconstruction planning is not always sufficient to understand site conditions, especially in urban areas. Flexibility in design, even during the construction phase, may be required to assure project success. During excavation of fill, conditions were found at specific locations that would reduce the likelihood of reestablishing historic functions and values of the tidal marsh. Designs were altered at one low marsh area, which was redesigned as mudflat; and a second low marsh area that was changed to a freshwater fen.

Environmental Practice 14:1–11 (2012)