Detroit Cultural District V2

WATER MANAGEMENT

The Detroit Cultural District

Creating spaces that combine culture, civic infrastructure, and sustainable systems is essential for equitable urban regeneration.

The Cultural Center Planning Initiative (CCPI) will introduce civic infrastructure that’s smart, efficient, and serves collective needs. Beyond the physical rejuvenation of public spaces, this initiative will facilitate a sense of ownership and engagement between citizens and the cultural institutions that hold the keys to their history—and their future. The

CCPI proposes a comprehensive

80-acre campus that integrates green infrastructure, cultural engagement and inclusion, and urban biodiversity into an accessible space that is equally welcoming to all Detroiters and all visitors.

THE CHARLES H. WRIGHT MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

THE SCARAB CLUB 9 1 PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS

COLLEGE

FOR

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

The Necklace on the southern lawn of the Detroit Public Library combines spaces for art and ecology.

Infrastructure Made Beautiful

The paradox of infrastructure is that it requires a significant investment, while typically going unseen. CCPI’s approach to water management is founded on a different philosophy: infrastructure can be beautiful and ecologically empathetic. By incorporating runoff mitigation, drainage, and filtration into biodynamic landscapes, the investment in water management will become an investment in the living ground of the city and an enhancement of the urban experience.

In addition to being a tactical and costefficient approach to infrastructural remediation, the plan will offer greater biodiversity and buffer the impact of climate change within the city by reducing the heat island effect. The design models environmentally just and ecologically salient solutions that address pressing challenges in the built environment.

The District Plan’s careful design of topographies, surfaces, and plantings create biodiverse and adaptive landscapes conceived to accommodate a breadth of programs and activities. A continuous experience in the landscape is achieved through a coherent use of repeating elements, brought together with a consideration of scale, variety, sequence, juxtaposition, and balance.

Detroit, most directly, the strategy focuses on the problem of aging and overtaxed wastewater systems aggravated by climate- warming trends. Making the systems visible and beautiful sensitizes visitors through an ecologically empathetic approach. The project will improve people’s overall sense of well-being by bringing nature into close proximity with the urban environment.

Olivier Philippe Principal, Agence Ter

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Integrating managementwaterinfrastructure into landscape design addresses a range of pressing issues across urban environments. In

divided by streets and small plots.

Focusing on what will be shared, CCPI merges the distinct parts into a generous whole.

A pedestrian framework defines the boundaries of the district by transforming a network of auto-centric streets into a people-focused pedestrian experience. It welcomes the possibility of shared infrastructure while offering institutions generous spaces for outdoor programming and public amenities. CCPI’s adaptation offers a democratic foundation for an urban plan where each institution, big or small, connects equitably to public space and the District’s amenities.

A series of open green spaces highlights the historic axis of the Cultural District and creates adaptable eventscapes for daily and exceptional activation. The surface parking lot on Brush is transformed into a Great Lawn by consolidating cars below grade. On Woodard Avenue, an ephemeral plaza emphasizes the well proportioned relationship between the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Public Library, opening possibilities for seasonal happenings. Connecting College for Creative Studies and Wayne State University, the Band integrates open spaces that unites the venerable campuses on both the east and west sides of the plan.

The Ecotone

The Ecotone incorporates nature into the city by merging infrastructure with the beauty of an inhabitable landscape, reimagining engineering and ecological requirements as a public attractor. In the form of two green zones bracing the districts open plazas, the Ecotone addresses climate adaptation, provides valuable solutions to urban overheating, augments biodiversity and mitigates noise/air pollution and introduces stormwater management at a district scale.

A meandering pathway that links the District with unique programming opportunities. If the Square is the destination, then the Necklace is the journey. The walking path connects smaller sites and experiences: sculptures, places for play, climate gardens, and other discrete activities, while offering moments for quiet reflection. A tool for navigating the District in an open-ended or theme-driven way, the Necklace creates distinct atmospheric experiences by facilitating intimate encounters with art, culture, and landscape.

The Square at the intersection of Farnsworth Street and John R Street looking west highlights a shared street that privileges pedestrian activity and creates space for commercial programs to activate the public life of the District.

THE DETROIT CULTURAL DISTRICT

How We Manage

CCPI’s landscape strategy addresses the urgent challenges posed by a warming planet and the environmental and social inequities it fosters. The design will positively address ecological and environmental challenges fundamental to Detroit by seeking an equitable distribution of resources, which in turn promise better futures for

Working at the intersection of the built and natural environments,

people across the region.

Above: The International Institute of Metro Detroit’s World Cafe engages East Kirby Street along the Square Next Page: The Arts Axis created between the College for Creative Studies and The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History provides a staging ground for contemporary art and combined with an environmentally sustainable reimagination of the Brush Street Parking Lot.

Collective Commitments

Cultural institutions all over the world are increasingly recognizing their obligation and the opportunity to consider climate change as a key issue of their commitment towards society. If museums, libraries, and universities plan to endure, they have to take impacts of climate change into consideration. Today their roles are far more complex than simply preserving and interpreting cultural artifacts or archiving knowledge. It is critical that our institutions recognise their role in improving society by working on pressing contemporary issues, using their expertise to make a positive difference in communities, and modeling new ways of stewarding culture and heritage for the common good.

For CCPI, the planning phase galvanized stakeholder commitment to take on responsibility, to collaborate on new models for public space stewardship, and to work together towards a shared sustainable future. Individual institutions agreed to dedicate space to water management, to removing impervious surfaces, and densifying the tree canopy. When combined, these pledges exceed any amount of climate mitigation a single

institution could achieve. Creating a model of collective care and maintenance, CCPI’s plan generates a driving force for a District to apply principles of ecological stewardship toward an equitable future for Detroit.

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CCPI reframes the relationships of District’s built and landscape elements to engage the effects of changing climate rather than adapt or retreat from them. We know that changing climate is not simply a engineering,technological, or design problem. It requires us to question existing social and cultural practices and to generate a broader, collective cultural response. CCPI seeks to do just that.

Anya Sirota Principal, Akoaki

Strategies For Managing Stormwater Runoff

With a warming climate and more frequent and intense rainfall events, increased flooding and stormwater runoff will continue to be a pressing challenge for the District and its stakeholder institutions. Appropriately, CCPI employ strategies to manage the increased volume and velocity of stormwater, engaging institutional commitment in the following ways:

1. Building InfrastructureGreen

The natural environments and engineered systems that make up green infrastructure provide us with clean water; conserve ecosystem values and functions; and provide a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife. CCPI’s approach to building green infrastructure into all aspects of the plan introduces water management systems that protect, restore, and mimic the natural water cycle. CCPI constructs wetland ecologies with great capacity to hold water, recharge groundwater, and mitigate water pollutants. Green infrastructure, in these approaches, are effective, economical, and enhance the quality of life.

2. Minimize Impervious Surfaces

Over 70 percent of the District is currently impervious. This 40 + acre footprint consists of roads, buildings, and parking lots. Reducing the volume of imperviousness is critical to the restoration of a healthy ecology in the District and beyond. CCPI, appropriately, revises District parking strategies, bringing lots below grade, and substitutes street parking with natural landscapes. Revisions to street design strategies include improving pedestrian experience, creating space for human-powered transportation, and adjusting space dedicated solely to automobiles.

3. Enhance the Tree Canopy

CCPI plants more trees. Trees help us manage stormwater by reducing runoff and mitigating erosion. Other critical functions provided by trees include cooling the heat islands in urban areas and shading pedestrians as they travel on streets and roadways. The District Plan treats shade as public infrastructure and carves occupiable living areas into

the landscape by carefully curating tree planting according to scale, species, and seasonal intrigue. The result is a landscape that engages the ground plane and foliage above in equal measure.

4. Reintroduce Native Vegetation

Traditional landscaping includes high-maintenance turfgrass and other nonnative species that require vast amounts of water during dry periods. In addition, turfgrass and nonnative species require excess fertilizer and pesticide applications that contribute to nonpoint pollution and runoff. This further contaminates surface and groundwater resources of local communities. CCPI promotes the use of native vegetation in landscaping, creating resilient and bio-diverse environments for human and non-human occupants alike.

5. Alleviate Pressure on the Combined System

Increased frequency and intensity of storm events result in more combined

sewer overflows (CSOs) that release additional, untreated sewage into the region’s drinking water. A mitigation control plan at the scale of the city is challenging due to the cost of updating outdated infrastructure. CCPI responds to new climate change by prototyping a District-wide plan to strategically reduce runoff volumes. In the process, the design models a high-impact implementation strategy to prioritize the most polluting lines in the city.

6. Foreground Climate Resilient Strategies

CCPI resolves to center climate change in all aspects of the design process. As the District faces increased stress due to climate change, coordination in planning becomes essential. The plan considers the links between land use planning, transportation planning, and built structures while ensuring a holistic and resilient approach to development.

Native Species, Their Ecological Importance

There is power and interconnectivity in native plant communities both above and below ground. By adding native plants to the landscape, CCPI benefits the health of the eco-system and improves the survival of native animal species, some of which may be threatened with extinction due to habitat loss. It is in this spirit of environmental conservation, and in the interest of public well-being, that the plan incorporates native plants and trees into the design of the District.

Supporting Native Species

It will come as no surprise that natural synergies have been developed between native plants and animals. Native plants have life sustaining benefits to an array of creatures ranging from insects (who provide nutrition for small mammals and birds), and extending to larger and more diverse species. In this way, native plants form the cornerstone of a food network that impacts every spectrum of life.

Soil Restoration

The ecological benefits of native plants extend beneath our feet. The roots of native plants form symbiotic relationships with bacteria, a partnership that generates nitrogen, an essential element in plant growth

and soil fertility. The presence of nitrogen-fixing natives boosts nutrients for vegetation nearby, and benefits the entire plant community.

Plant roots that are fibrous, widespread, and deep are critical to the stabilization of topsoil, particularly in flood prone areas. Their perforation of the topsoil ensures greater porosity and water absorption in pervious surfaces. Without the protective barriers of native plants, our natural landscapes and freshwater ecosystems would be devastated.

Local Diversity

Evolution is the foundation of why a plant must be native to a country, state, or region in order for the particular plant to truly enhance the quality of life for other members of the ecosystem. Plants that evolve together will eventually develop an efficient means of co-existing in which one plant’s growth habits will not interfere with the other, creating ecological harmony.

Empathetic Ecologies

Close interaction with native ecosystems helps build empathetic relationships to nature, makes us mindful and observant, and boosts our capacity to connect with the

environment. CCPI fosters these interpersonal links by providing opportunities to observe nature in action, be it pollinators visiting flowers, songbirds perching in bushes, or native fauna returning to the heart of the city. Watching these plant and animal relationships unfold instills a deep appreciation of the value and interconnectivity of our ecosystems.

To help unpack how the landscape and its native planting strategy works, interactive installations designed in collaboration with stakeholder institutions will serve as an instructional opportunity for visitors of all ages.

CCPI leverages the range of benefits native plants in their local climates have on the environment. Because native plants have adapted to their local climates, watering in excess of what the environment already provides is unnecessary. Through the introduction of native perennials, with root systems persisting year round, the plan does not have to disturb the soil and replace plants on a seasonal basis. Additionally, native plants are very efficient in storm water absorption, reducing run-off in the overwhelmed combined system and supporting CCPI’s holistic water management strategy.

The Necklace on the southern lawn of the Detroit Institute of Art combines spaces for art and ecology.

HOW WE MANAGE

The Science Center Garden is an opportunity to learn more about microclimates, by demonstrating how water cycles, atmosphere, and ecosystem design work at the scale of the project and the planet.

Detroit’s Combined System

Detroit: A Snapshot

The Cultural District is located 2 miles North of downtown Detroit. The distinct areas are connected along Woodward Avenue, as pictured above.

What makes Detroit such a critical player in the water systems of the state, the Great Lakes region, and even the country? The city’s stormwater runoff affects drinking water quality for a very large portion of the US population.

For a relatively small river, the Detroit River, serving as a connector between two Great Lakes watersheds, creates significant environmental impact during overflow events caused by overtaxed and outdated city systems.

Further rising precipitation linked to global warming is affecting the Great Lakes region more dramatically than in other places, causing more frequent occurrence of the hard rain conditions that create polluting overflow events. For a single urban footprint, Detroit has an outsized impact and the incidents of spillover are increasing.

Detroit has often been labeled as a ‘green city’ due to expansive tracts of open landscape. Unfortunately, the scale of available postindustrial area does not translate directly into an environmental solution for urban runoff, as

resurgent vegetation often covers building remnants and impervious surfaces. The scale of the city’s aging infrastructures add additional challenges to quick-fix results.

CCPI makes an important contribution toward making the city truly green. The plan takes measures to implement green stormwater infrastructure and improve the biodiversity of the region. Not only does CCPI successfully manage stormwater, it also creates habitats for various species of insects and animals; protects the region’s vulnerable ecosystems; and provides education and employment to surrounding communities.

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By leveraging the District’s in-between spaces to prototype a new urban future, CCPI can innovate and actualize a vision that the world will learn from, as it has from the city of Detroit in past centuries.

Jean Louis Farges Principal, Akoaki

The five water treatment plants shown on the map were built to serve the suburbs surrounding Detroit. These facilities are leased to the Great Lakes Water Authority from the Detroit Water and Sewage Department. In these treatment plants, water sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River is filtered and disinfected before being distributed to surrounding regions. Source: Detroit Water and Sewer Department, “Water and Sewer Maps”, 2014.

Overbuilt Infrastructure

In metropolitan Detroit, contention surrounding the city’s water system has been driven by the burden of maintaining overbuilt infrastructure and the decentralized management between the city and surrounding municipalities. When the city decided to provide water to the forty-four suburban municipalities in 1955, Detroit’s water infrastructure expanded rapidly to increase capacity.

By the time mayor Albert E. Cobo left office in 1973, ninety-six municipalities were being served by Detroit-run water systems. To accommodate the need for heightened water capacity during his time in office, the Springwells Treatment Plant expanded to increase capacity to 540 million gallons per day, the Southwest Treatment Plant opened with a capacity of 240 million gallons per day, and the department introduced a project to build an intake system on Lake Huron to hold 400 million gallons per day.

When Detroit elected Mayor Coleman Young in 1973, the water system was serving 4 million people versus the 5.5 million people it was designed for. As the population of the city continued to decrease, the water systems became further underutilized, and water and sewage management became

more burdensome, increasing negative representation of the city’s administrative capacities. By 2013, the city water system pumped 610 million gallons daily to the region, while the system was built to be able to carry up to 1.7 billion gallons of water to the region every day.

DWSD owns one of the largest wastewater treatment plants in the United States, and treats approximately 650 million gallons of wastewater per day on average.

Today, the Detroit Water and Sewer Department owns one of the largest water and sewer networks in the United States. However, after the city filed bankruptcy in 2014, the terms of their agreement required a forty-year lease of the system outside of the city proper to the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA). The GLWA is now the regional water authority.

The bottom line, each Detroit resident is responsible for the stewardship of 45 linear feet of combined sewer infrastructure.

Combined Sewer Systems And Their Stressors

A combined sewer system (CSS) collects rainwater runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater into one pipe. Under normal conditions, the system transports all of the wastewater collected to a sewage treatment plant, then discharges it to a water body. The volume of wastewater can sometimes exceed the capacity of the CSS or treatment plant. When this occurs, untreated stormwater and wastewater discharges directly to nearby streams, rivers, and other water bodies.

Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) contain untreated or partially treated human and industrial waste; toxic materials; debris; as well as stormwater. They are a priority water pollution concern for municipalities across the nation that have CSSs. In other words, CSOs are points where the contents of a combined sewer system overflow occasionally and discharge excess wastewater directly to nearby streams, rivers, or other water bodies. CSOs, in other words, are flexion points that demonstrate issues and vulnerabilities within the overall system. CSOs are the result of sewer systems that drain both stormwater runoff and human and industrial waste. Today, eighty municipalities in Michigan have such systems.

Overflow events occurred 45 times in 2018.

From January 2018 through May 2019, 6.7 billion gallons of diluted or partially treated sewage, called combined sewer overflows (CSOs), spilled into Michigan waters.

Depending on yearly precipitation, untreated combined sewer overflow coming from the City of Detroit and surrounding communities is around 1-3 billion gallons per year.

OAKWOOD-NORTHWEST INTERCEPTOR [ONWI]

NORTH INTERCEPTOR EAST ARM [NIEA]

DETROIT RIVER INTERCEPTOR [DRI]

Midtown Cultural Center

¹ “Detroit WWTP NPDES Fact SheetState of Michigan.” Detroit Water and Sewage Department.

Waste Water Treatment Facility

COMBINED SYSTEMS AND THEIR

Combined Sewer Overflows In Detroit

Any water system has inputs and outputs. Within the City of Detroit, the water infrastructure system has approximately 2,700 miles of pipe to transport clean water to residents, and another 3,000 miles of pipes to transport sewage and stormwater runoff. DWSD released plans to replace 1 to 2 percent of the city’s water lines per year moving forward. Although this is much higher than other midwestern cities, it relies on an extended timespan to gradually mitigate its infrastructural challenges. To supplement DWSD’s efforts to alleviate stresses on Detroit’s system, CCPI took a closer look at the sewer lines in the District and their impacts on the full urban network.

It’s important to understand, not every sewer line in the city is an equally culpable contributor to overflow events. There are four factors that determine the likelihood of an overflow event: the length of the main watershed line, the amount of small connected lines, the amount of

watershed lines feeding into a water treatment facility, and, of course, the volume and the speed of input. Small connected lines in the District are linked to three different watershed lines. In combination with additional inputs along the lines, water from the District contributed to 23 overflow events (as calculated in 2018).

CCPI has the solution. By reallocating space within the District to include bioswales, reduce impervious surfaces, and enhance water retentive landscapes, the plan eases pressure on these lines and minimizes combined runoff events. The calculated reduction in overflow events illustrates the measurable impact a small area can make on the entire city. As a replicable method, CCPI identifies methods for prioritizing the improvements to the most polluting arteries, offering a phased approach to infrastructural reform that is efficient, beautiful, and strategically deployable.

CULTURAL CENTER PLANNING INITIATIVE

+ WOODWARD JOHN R + BRUSH BEAUBIEN + ST. ANTOINE

Above: Three watershed lines the District connects to.

Left: Annual number of outfall discharges reported across Detroit’s main watershed lines in 2018 illustrating that three watershed lines bisecting the District contribute to reported events. Source: GLWA, Detroit River Outfalls Annual Frequency of Discharge (FY 2017-2018)

CASS

RAINFALL (NO TREATMENT NEEDED)

INTERNAL DOWNSPOUT (POSSIBLE DISCONNEC

RAINFALL (NO TREATMENT NEEDED)

FRONT LAWN (SOME INFILTRATION)

A section illustrating a typical combined system in the District which captures water from impervious street surfaces, buildings, and plumbing systems into a single combined watershed output line.

STORMDRAIN (COMBINES RAINWATER + STREET RUNOFF)

STREET RUNOFF (SOME TREATMENT NEEDED)

RAINFALL (NO TREATMENT NEEDED)

RAINFALL (NO TREATMENT NEEDED)

COMBINED SEWER (FULL TREATMENT NEEDED)

FRONT LAWN (SOME INFILTRATION)

SCUPPER + DOWNSPOUT (CAN BE RECAPTURED)

INTERNAL DOWNSPOUT (CAN’T BE DISCONNECT

STREET RUNOFF

RAIN WATER

SANITARY WATER

Sewage

In

Major sewer lines in the city run NorthSouth, with feeder pipes running EastWest. In an engineered approach to calculating the impacts of a localized water management system, CCPI works to remove virtually all runoff contributing to the three lines that service the District.

Cass and Woodward Avenue combine into Overflow B21, Brush Street and John R contribute to B20, Farnsworth and the impervious surfaces of the garage at the College for Creative Studies relate to the B15 Orleans Relief Line. CCPI tracked the overflow discharges for these major sewer lines. Of the three lines, CCPI identified the Brush Street line as the area of primary focus. It offers an opportunity to create a measurable impact on the system. By reducing runoff to the B20 Line, the District Plan can help prevent 47 million gallons of overflow, as this line experienced in 2018.

Connecting the District’s capacity to divert runoff to a data-driven study of overflow events, not only serves to quantify CCPI’s impact on the city’s combined system, it offers a pathway for strategic intervention that phases the repairs and upgrades in a costefficient and impact-drive approach for Detroit.

Right: Diagram illustrating the major sewer lines through the District with associated feeder lines. Source: GLWA, Detroit River Outfalls Annual Frequency of Discharge (FY 2017 - 2018)

Stormwater Policy in Detroit In Conversation With Don Carpenter

Don Carpenter, PhD, is an engineer and accredited green design professional whose efforts have focused on researching innovative stormwater management practices and designing stormwater management retrofits for nonprofit organizations and local municipalities.

Anya Sirota (AS): Don, you’ve been a partner and consultant for the Cultural Center Planning Initiative since the competition phase of the project, and have been working in Detroit as a stormwater management consultant for years. Could you describe some of the roles you’ve assumed in the city and the expertise you bring to each project?

Don Carpenter (DC): For the most part, my work in Detroit can be broadly split into two categories: Consultancy for Detroit’s Water and Sewer Department (DWSD), and design with my firm Drummond Carpenter PLLC. As a consultant, I perform site plan reviews to ensure proposals meet the post-construction stormwater ordinance (PCSWO), and site assessments to look at how nonprofit organizations and commercial entities can take advantage of DWSD funding as part of their stormwater credit program. With my firm, I design green stormwater infrastructure. Some of my work has been implemented at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and Keep Growing Detroit, which is much more research and community connection focused.

You mentioned the post-construction stormwater ordinance, PCSWO, but could you unpack what that document entails and why it’s important to the City of Detroit?

The Post-Construction Stormwater Ordinance says that if you disturb more than a half acre of property as anything other than a single family residential structure, you must meet certain criteria for different levels of wet weather events. So a one-inch rainfall event requires that it be treated before released. Next, there is a minimum infrastructure protection volume. You must be able to capture 2.3 inches of rain from a 24 hour storm and slowly release it. Lastly, there is a flood protection volume of either a 10year storm or a 100-year storm, depending on your site. Here you must be able to hold back three to six inches of rain and slowly release it over a 24 to 48 hour period.

Effectively what the City is trying to do with any new developments is to make sure that the water is cleaner, while making sure that localized flooding is alleviated. That is why they call it infrastructure protection volume. This also ensures that the city is addressing flooding by having larger retention or detention basins.

Another aspect of the Ordinance is related to the drainage charge program. The city charges properties $ 600 per impervious acre of land or building. This is because water runs off these surfaces and enters the combined sewer system where the City must treat it. The drainage charge makes developers more cognizant of the volume of runoff their projects create..

For those unfamiliar with different sewer systems, could you elaborate what a combined system is and how this relates to the Ordinance?

The city of Detroit has combined sewers where the rainwater and sanitary water both end up in the same pipe headed to the wastewater treatment plant. Stormwater doesn’t require wastewater treatment but, when it combines with the sanitary water, the volume of water needing treatment grows exponentially. This is the reason for drainage charges. The charge pays the City to treat the runoff that enters the combined systems.since it can’t be separated from the sanitary water entering the system.

There are benefits for individual landowners as well. If you capture and treat water on your site, either individually or collectively, you can get credit from DWSD towards your bill. There are even some established funding mechanisms to help where residents and businesses can apply for cityfunded grants to implement the green stormwater infrastructure.

For someone who is not familiar with the City of Detroit or stormwater infrastructure, water management might not intuitively be a charged topic. For that audience, can you explain the necessity of keeping water out of the combined system and the challenges with this process? Also, what are the real impacts?

The events of 2021 have done a lot to bring these problems to light. This particular year has been a very, very wet year with a lot of localized flooding, backflow basement flooding, and combined sewer overflow releases. That is where you have raw sewage, or partially raw sewage, going straight into the Rouge and Detroit Rivers. Unfortunately, that’s a downside of the combined system. If there’s more water in the pipe than the wastewater treatment plant can handle and treat, combined water goes straight to the rivers. That’s literally raw sewage in the rivers which, in our case, is also the water intake for the city’s water.

How old is the combined system and can we do anything to make repairs?

The City of Detroit has an extremely old system. Some infrastructure is hundreds of years old and even some of the pipes in the cultural center are from the 1800’s. The system was designed for a certain amount of conveyance and capacity, but climate change and increased rainfall events are increasingly overwhelming the system. It would cost billions and billions of dollars to rip everything out and start over, which is not realistic.

Installing green infrastructure and stormwater systems can help build resilience into the system to help alleviate localized flooding. If you have a small amount of rainfall, less than would trigger a combined sewer overflow event, it is still going to the wastewater treatment plant costing energy and money to treat. Rainwater should be an amenity, a resource, not a waste product costing money, at least until it enters the combined system.

The way the system is currently set up is that every drop of water that falls on impervious surfaces -surfaces that shed water instead of absorbing it - is instantly a waste product. Imagine if that water filtered through porous surfaces back into the earth. Then no treatment is necessary and the water table supports new life. Unfortunately, that’s not the way things have been done for a hundred years, so we need to reassess what’s best for the land and our finances.

Is there any way to know roughly what the proportion of sanitary to storm water enters the combined system?

DWSD has that monitored, and I don’t know it off the top of my head but sanitary water represents a huge proportion of the total of what they’re paying to treat.

It’s clear that wet weather is getting more extreme and frequent in this era of climate change. The City of Detroit, despite best intentions a hundred years ago is left with a pretty inflexible system. Are there ways to fully mediate stormwater overwhelming the current system? Do we have options or are attempts a band-aid on a broken system?

There are two methods for intervention here. The first is through sewer separation projects like some of those on the west side of the city by Rouge Park. These put brand new stormwater pipes into a neighborhood, covering 200 to 300 acres of homes, then take all that stormwater and run it to the Rouge River. This keeps the stormwater out of the wastewater treatment plant. Existing pipes only carry sanitary water, which is fantastic for a couple hundred acres, but comes with costs: approximately $40-50 million dollars. The response is practical in areas adjacent to a discharge spot, in this case, the Rouge River.

For landlocked areas, like the Cultural Center, it’s not feasible or practical to get a separate sewer and run that new pipe all the way to the Detroit River. For this, I recommend green stormwater infrastructure and low impact development, including detention/retention landscape solutions, and porous surfacing. This actually builds resilience into the system because if you’re building infrastructure practices that are designed to handle one inch of rain, as most rain events are, then you’re capturing 95% of all rainfall events without sending them into the combined treatment system.

If you build it for a capacity of two inches, you’re taking 99% of all events. This keeps stormwater out of the wastewater treatment plants so you’re not wasting energy, not wasting money treating effectively clean water, and strongly alleviating the pressure on the system.

So there’s a wide range of approaches to intervention — from separating sewers to surface mitigation at the scale of the single landowner. In your opinion, can we get away with networks of smaller scale projects or does the city also need some top-down ‘heavy’ approaches to water management infrastructure?

We really need to do both. One method would take over a decade and billions of dollars to implement while the other could be implemented now. It would be very difficult to pursue only top-down approaches because of the astronomical costs and how long these massive infrastructural projects take. Sewer Separation projects, like the one I mentioned earlier, take four

DC or five years to complete. Whereas surface green stormwater infrastructure which can be done at any scale, won’t be as expensive, won’t take as long, and can be happening simultaneously as larger top-down approaches.

AS AS

Can you describe the approach to water management and green stormwater infrastructure within the scope of the Cultural Center Planning Initiative?

DC

DC

Any of these impervious areas in the District can be captured through green stormwater infrastructure. Whether naturalized by retention ponds,rain gardens, or through underground storage, we have options. We’ve proven that with the porous pavers and underground storage at the Charles H. Wright Museum.

There are opportunities in the District to capture between one and four inches of rainfall events by rethinking the streets in the district. Installing porous pavers or underground storage to capture the runoff around the street and parcel edges would make a huge impact.

The other chunk of the stormwater in the District is from rooftops. Runoff from the roof of the Charles Wright museum, parts of the Michigan Science Center, and the parking structures or the Hellenic museum can be captured and diverted rather easily. Again, using native plants, bioswales, porous pavers, underground storage, and letting nature kind of do the work is very cost effective.

If you can capture and treat more than half the water that’s landing in the District through detention (slowing water’s eventual release) or retention (allowing it to infiltrate), you’re creating a system that feeds the Detroit River and greatly reduces the chance of a sanitary sewer overflow into the river.

Can you trace a targeted impact of the Cultural Center Planning Initiative on the larger combined system of the City?

The Cultural District straddles a couple of different main pipes that head to the River: Woodward Avenue, Brush Street and Beaubien Street. As the combined system moves ‘downstream,’ the pipes get larger and more water collectively starts flowing into it. We know the amount of water the whole system can handle is a finite amount. We also know how much it takes to create an overflow event.. If CCPI manages its water effectively, it’s reducing strain on those main lines during wet weather events.

If we can manage a large enough portion of stormwater during wet weather events, we could ease the impact at the wastewater treatment plant instead of overflowing into the River.

It is still an extremely complicated system, and we’ve had some very intense rainfall events recently. If implemented, green stormwater Infrastructure implemented in the cultural district would work great 90% of the time. If you get six inches of rain two blocks downstream of the site, there will still be issues unfortunately.

So, if we can manage a large enough portion of water during wet weather events it could be that all the rest of the water while it’s still combined sewer water actually makes it to the wastewater treatment plant instead of overflowing into the River.

It is still an extremely complicated system, and we’ve had some very intense rainfall events recently. If implemented, Green stormwater Infrastructure into the cultural district would work great 90% of the time, but if you get six inches of rain two blocks downstream of the site there will still be issues.

Don, this has been great. Are there any other aspects of this we should be aware of?

The only thing we didn’t discuss that’s worth discussing is the educational aspects of this kind of project. All the direct benefits and co-benefits that we’ve discussed aren’t really popular knowledge. There’s some misunderstanding about the urban water cycle, the drainage charges, human health factors associated with nature, etc. There’s a lot of medical scholarship around the relationship between nature and health. And what better place to educate and cultivate knowledge than a cultural center? There is an opportunity to educate people beyond any single institution, in a broad way about water management and urban water management. How this impacts human health, supports equity, and builds resiliency is very important.. It would be a mistake to undersell the education opportunities associated with this project.

Imperviousness & Drainage

People around the world build, use and maintain constructed impervious surfaces for dwelling, mobility and trade. It is a universal phenomenon. It represents one of the primary human modifications of the built environment.

Population growth and economic expansion, combined with the global rise of automobiles has led to sprawl and a proliferation of impervious surfaces. CCPI aims to do better.

Recognizing the District has a tremendous amount of paved surfaces in the

Impervious Detroit

Paved surfaces are so ubiquitous we rarely think twice about seeing them in urban environments. In the United States alone, pavements and other impervious surfaces cover an area nearly half the size of Michigan, according to research published by the American Geophysical Union.

Impervious surfaces can be a host of different materials such as concrete or asphalt. This material can be at grade or elevated, on roofs or parking lots. The one commonality in all these examples? Water runs off of them, not through them…and with that runoff comes a host of problems.

In Detroit, rapid population growth in the early 1900s led to the construction of a large amount of impervious area. Due to the decrease of the city’s population after 1950, Detroit was left with much lower population density than cities with the same percentage of impervious land use. In the USA overall, there are millions of new houses and thousands of miles of paved road constructed each year. Constructed impervious surfaces are the causes of many hydrological and ecological disturbances.

The most common impervious surfaces in the District include: building and parking garage rooftops, concrete, asphalt, and compacted soils. During wet weather events, water does not

penetrate into the ground beneath these impervious surfaces, sending water to the three combined lines servicing the footprint.

Pervious surfaces, in contrast, allow water to infiltrate into the landscape. Planted lawn, garden areas, bioswales, trees, and loose gravel are examples of pervious surfaces integrated into the District plan. While urban development has traditionally centered around a habitat for cars, CCPI acknowledges that the high amount of impervious surface covering cities is a fundamental contributor to urban stormwater challenges. Decreasing the amount of impervious surface cover through the use of permeable pavement materials allows water to infiltrate, reducing runoff is therefore a key.

Right: A view South down Woodward Avenue. An example of an eight lane avenue typical of Detroit’s mobility infrastructure. Image Credit: Desmond Love

Impervious surfaces do not allow moisture to pass through them. The diagram above illustrates the impervious area in the City of Detroit.

MACOMB COUNTY WASHTENAW COUNTY

IMPERVIOUSNESS & DRAINAGE

MONROE COUNTY

OAKLAND COUNTY

WAYNE COUNTY

CITY OF DETROIT

The land cover categories shown above include: impervious surfaces (road, rooftops, driveways), tree canopy, open space (lawn, fields), bare ground (gravel parking lots, agricultural fields), and water. The region’s impervious surfaces are equally divided between roads, buildings, parking lots/ driveways. The City of Detroit’s land cover is approximately 50% impervious, while the average impervious area for the rest of the Southeast region is 14%.

Source: SEMGOG’s “Land Cover in Southeast Michigan, 2013”

CHICAGO

DENVER DETROIT

The land cover categories shown above include: impervious surfaces (road, rooftops, driveways), tree canopy, open space (lawn, fields), bare ground (gravel parking lots, agricultural fields), and water. Among the cities shown, the city with the lowest impervious area is Nashvilled (17.7%) and the city with the highest area is Chicago (58.5%). Detroit has a higher amount of impervious area compared to the cities above.

Source: SEMGOG’s “Land Cover in Southeast Michigan, 2013”

Site Imperviousness

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS (+ PARKING AREA)

Pervious [4.17 ACRES] / Impervious [9.25 ACRES]

DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY

Pervious [4.37 ACRES] / Impervious [4.84 ACRES]

COLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STUDIES

Pervious [2.15 ACRES] / Impervious [6.07 ACRES]

CHARLES H. WRIGHT MUSEUM

Pervious [2.17 ACRES] / Impervious [2.45 ACRES]

RACKHAM BUILDING / UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Pervious [1.22 ACRES] / Impervious [2.31 ACRES]

MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER

Pervious [0.41 ACRES] / Impervious [2.58 ACRES]

DETROIT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Pervious [0.42 ACRES] / Impervious [1.56 ACRES]

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE

Pervious [0.04 ACRES] / Impervious [0.76 ACRES]

HELLENIC MUSEUM

Pervious [0.09 ACRES] / Impervious [0.37ACRES]

SCARAB CLUB

Pervious [0.07 ACRES] / Impervious [0.32 ACRES]

CHARLES H. WRIGHT MUSEUM MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER

SCARAB CLUB

COLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STUDIES

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE

HELLENIC MUSEUM

RACKHAM BUILDING/ UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY DETROIT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS

Above: Calculations for each institution and their surrounding property were made to determine their imperviousness. Included in calculations are the landscaping, hardscaping, building footprints, and parking facilities on site. Source: Drummond Carpenter, PLLC

Road Imperviousness

WOODWARD AVENUE

Pervious [0.00 ACRES] / Impervious [3.81 ACRES]

FARNSWORTH STREET

Pervious [0.54 ACRES] / Impervious [2.37 ACRES]

JOHN R STREET

Pervious [0.32 ACRES] / Impervious [1.83 ACRES]

KIRBY STREET (EAST + WEST)

Pervious [0.00 ACRES] / Impervious [1.70 ACRES]

FERRY STREET

Pervious [0.30 ACRES] / Impervious [1.42 ACRES]

CASS AVENUE

Pervious [0.07 ACRES] / Impervious [1.42 ACRES]

PUTNAM STREET

Pervious [0.02 ACRES] / Impervious [0.94 ACRES]

FREDERICK STREET

Pervious [0.00 ACRES] / Impervious [0.91 ACRES]

FARNSWORTH STREET BRUSH STREET FREDERICK STREET

FARNSWORTH STREET

PUTNAM STREET

WOODWARD AVENUE FERRY STREET

CASS AVENUE

WEST KIRBY STREET EAST KIRBY STREET JOHN R STREET

Above: Calculations for imperviousness were also made for the major roadways in the District. Roadways are 92% impervious in comparison to the site area, which is approximately 50% impervious.

Source: Drummond Carpenter, PLLC

STORM EVENT TYPE 1 WATER QUALITY VOLUME (WQv)

STORM EVENT TYPE 2 CHANNEL PROTECTION VOLUME (CPv)

90TH PERCENTILE STORM EVENT

2-YEAR 24-HOUR STORM EVENT

FOR SITES <5 ACRES

FOR SITES ≥ 5 ACRES

STORM EVENT TYPE 3 FLOOD CONTROL VOLUME (FCv)

STORM EVENT TYPE 3 FLOOD CONTROL VOLUME (FCv)

Developers creating or replacing one-half acre or more of new hard surface in Detroit are required by the Post-Construction Storm Water Ordinance (PCSWO) to offset it with stormwater management practices.

10-YEAR 24-HOUR STORM EVENT 100-YEAR 24-HOUR STORM EVENT IMPERVIOUSNESS & DRAINAGE

Post-Construction Stormwater Management Ordinance

Many communities are facing challenges associated with natural resource degradation caused by development and rapid growth. The City of Detroit, in parallel with other cities, has put legal authorities in place to shape development and to protect natural resources. Post-construction stormwater management in areas undergoing new development or redevelopment is designed to help mitigate runoff and its negative impacts on receiving water bodies. Generally, there are two forms of impacts of post-construction runoff.

The first is caused by an increase in the type and quantity of pollutants in stormwater runoff. As runoff flows over areas altered by development, it picks up harmful sediment and chemicals such as oil and grease, pesticides, heavy metals, and nutrients. These pollutants often become suspended in runoff and are carried to receiving waters, such as lakes, ponds, and streams. Once deposited, these pollutants can enter the food chain through small aquatic life, eventually entering the tissues of fish and humans.

The second kind of post construction runoff impact occurs by increasing the quantity of water delivered to the waterbody during storms. Increased impervious surfaces such as parking lots, driveways, and rooftops interrupt

the natural cycle of water drainage through vegetation and soil. Instead, water is collected from surfaces such as asphalt and concrete and routed to drainage systems where large volumes of runoff quickly flow to the nearest receiving body of water. The effects of this process include streambank scouring and downstream flooding, which often lead to a loss of aquatic life and damage to property.

The primary goal of the PostConstruction Stormwater Management Ordinance (PCSWMO) for new construction and redevelopment is to limit surface runoff and reduce the amount of water entering the combined system. According to the PCSWMO, there are three types of storm events that a site must manage:

• The water quality volume event (90th percentile storm event)

• The channel protection volume event (2-year 24-hour storm event)

• The flood control volume event (10-year 24-hour storm event)

The CCPI plan acts preemptively, bringing the District’s overall environmental impacts in alignment with local ordinances. This gives individual stakeholder institutions the flexibility and opportunity to imagine architectural alteration and expansion knowing that space to accommodate runoff is accounted for.

Institution Runoff Volume

Shown for 100-yr (dependent on construction area)

Shown for 100-yr (dependent on construction area)

Street Runoff Volume

GALLONS OF STORMWATER RUNOFF

Managing Resources Together

On Saturday, June 26th, 2021 over six inches of rain fell in three hours. At least five of the cultural district institutions in the District faced prolonged closure to deal with damages from water and sewage. Although CCPI’s plan was well underway in 2021, this devastating event underscored the importance of a District strategy. This type of event will become more and more common. Simultaneously, the cost of a full citywide system overhaul is significant: SEMCOG reports that $1 billion every year until 2045 would be required to sufficiently shore up stormwater management infrastructure.

With the pledge from each institution to contribute the spatial resources necessary for the benefit of the whole, CCPI devised a water management plan that augments and amplifies existing conditions. Specific considerations include the total impervious area in the Cultural District, and the scale of storm events that need to be managed, with an understanding that the occurrence of such events is likely to increase with current trends in climate change. It is important to note that the square footage of paved roadways in the District is equal to the combined footprints of the seven smaller participating institutions,

demonstrating that the streets together are larger than the collective imperviousness of the institutions. So the pledge from individual institutions was not only to manage stormwater runoff from individual and peer institutions, but that of the city as well.

The water management plan combines a strategic carving of the ground strategy with the implicit benefits of the Square and the Ecotone. This carving strategy locates institutions at a higher elevation with the grade sloping toward streets, creating individual bioswales and water management features at carefully chosen locations. There are specific edge conditions of the Square which turn the entire space into a kind of catch basin or levee, embracing the water rather than deflecting it. In the Ecotone, a series of differentlyscaled micro-ecosystems create opportunities for water management infrastructure.

Overall, the intention is to create a replicable and efficient water management tool of the entire Cultural District, recirculating the water within the micro-environments of the Square and Ecotone rather than pushing it out to the overtaxed city systems.

Top Left: Existing topography, high point ridge with natural low points along the East-West running streets

Bottom Left: Proposed diagram of primary visible water management features enveloped in the Ecotone created by exaggerating the existing landscape and topography.

Next Page: A typical section of the District illustrating water management strategy in action.

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Strengthening Systems

As a commercial, cultural, and transportation nexus, Detroit not only faces the urgent climate challenges common to the region but is also greatly affected by distinct urban factors, namely, land use, outmoded infrastructure, and socioeconomic disparity. We are at a critical inflection point. The way we model building in Detroit will determine whether these conditions offer strategies for resilient development or continue to pose obstacles to equitable regeneration.

Climate

change cuts across many sectors and jurisdictions. As multiple scientific assessments predict, average temperatures in the region will continue to rise, increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses. Severe rainstorms will become more frequent and intense, increasing flood-associate risks, including sewage overflows and water contamination. Infrastructure will face challenges, such as direct damage due to weather and increasing demands for services during heat waves.

But while the causes of climate change are global, a lot can be done locally to build resilience and to strengthen our ability to withstand the worst effects of climate change. CCPI addresses climate change holistically, incorporating concerns of environmental justice into all aspects of the decision making process. Consequently, the plan ensures that design and infrastructure serve residents, visitors, and institutions in equal measure. In the process, the design

demonstrates how planning locally for a warmer future can address environmental and social inequity regionally.

Weathering The Storm

The City of Detroit is located in the Southern Great Lakes Forest ecoregion—one of the most heavily impacted regions by human activity on the continent according to the World Wildlife Fund. As the average annual precipitation in the region increases and extreme storms occur more frequently, it is imperative that existing and future urban developments in Detroit implement a range of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSIs) solutions.

Everyone in the city of Detroit—and the entire Great Lakes watershed region— will benefit from CCPI’s green infrastructure. By transforming 16 acres of paved surface into lush landscape, the District will become an ecosystem responsive to climatechange vulnerabilities. The plan is designed to collect and manage 15.5 million gallons of runoff annually, alleviating sewage overflow during rainfall events.

The average yearly temperature in the Great Lakes basin increased by 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit from 1980-2016, a higher than average temperature change of 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the United States. Future projections for annually-averaged temperatures show an increase of 5.810.1 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of

the 21st century, depending on future greenhouse gas emissions.

A warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture, causing an increase in the intensity and frequency of wet weather events. Until now, this increase in wet weather has arrived in the form of unusually large events. Moving forward, these events will redistribute across the seasons. Overall, the Great Lakes Region can expect to see wetter winters and springs while summer precipitation decreases by 5-15%. In geographies with significant impervious areas, these events are expected to cause more frequent flooding and damage homes, roadways, and other infrastructure. This will also place a greater amount of stress on stormwater handling systems, overloading water treatment infrastructure, and polluting water sources.

U.S. annual precipitation increased 4% between 1901 and 2015.

The Great Lakes region saw a 10% increase in precipitation over that interval.

Southeast Michigan averages 111 days of precipitation every year.

Right: Data from the Midwestern Regional Climate Center show rises in both temperature and yearly precipitation in the region over the past hundred years.

RISING TEMPERATURES

SOURCE: MIDWESTERN REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER

YEARLY PRECIPITATION

SOURCE: MIDWESTERN REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER

Above: Data from the Midwestern Regional Climate Center show rises in both temperature and yearly precipitation in the region over the past hundred years.

Conserving The Ecoregion

Various factors contribute to the impact of Detroit’s water management practices on population and ecosystem health within the city and far beyond. Unlike other zones, the Great Lakes area is experiencing an increase in rainfall due to climate change, which combines with over development of wetlands to produce an abundance of runoff that overwhelms the current city systems. When Detroit’s aging combined sewer system offloads excess stormwater into the rivers, it contains human waste and other pollutants that migrate into the waterways via the Detroit River.

This impacts numerous populations, including migrating birds, unique plant communities, waterway ecosystems, and human populations. An overabundance of impervious surfaces concentrated within the city exacerbates existing effects of urbanization, including the “heat island effect,” in addition to causing harm to all forms of life dependent on the Great Lakes.

The Southern Great Lakes Forest ecoregion includes extensive interior wetlands, major staging areas for migrating birds, and sand pits hosting unique plant communities. This region serves as an extension of Midwestern prairies as well. There are also islands on Lake Erie hosting a variety of species that are unique to this ecoregion.

97% of wetlands along the Detroit River have been destroyed; no habitat blocks of significant size remain. Remaining patches of wildlife are tiny, with little to no connectivity in many areas.

In the Southern Great Lakes Forest Ecoregion, agricultural and urban development are the predominant land uses. This development has caused the region to become one of the most heavily altered by human activity in North America.

This Region Has No Remaining Protected Areas Larger Than 500 Square Kilometers.

Bringing Back Biodiversity

The Ecotone inserts a native, biodiverse landscape into the heart of Detroit. This introduction of a resilient ecological system will filter urban runoff, slow the flow of stormwater, temper the warming effect of development, and improve local air quality. In the process, the Ecotone will serve as home to resilient vegetation that helps accommodate and introduce local and migratory species. For residents and visitors, this landscape element will produce spaces for passive recreation, environmental education, and respite.

This strategy plugs into the Southern Great Lakes Forest ecoregion, which includes sweeping interior wetlands, major staging areas for migrating birds, and sand pits hosting unique plant communities. This region serves as an extension of Midwestern prairies. Agricultural and urban development are the predominant land uses here. Remaining patches of wildlife have been diminished significantly with little to no connectivity in many areas. In many areas, this region has no protected areas larger than 500 square kilometers.

Given the region’s ecological challenges, our watershed impact is all the more critical. The Huron-Erie Corridor, which includes Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, and the Detroit River, makes various contributions to the overall health of Lake Erie. This corridor contains near shore and stream habitats and extensive coastal wetlands (the Detroit River has over 4,000 acres). More than 65 species of fish, 16 of which are threatened or endangered, use the Huron-Erie Corridor. This area is also part of the central Great Lakes flyway for millions of migratory birds.

Don Carpenter Principal, Drummond Carpenter

Right: The Detroit River is a part of the larger Huron-Erie Corridor which greatly impacts the overall health of Lake Erie’s ecosystem.

The Ecotone is designed to offset the impacts of urbanization and human activity while making space for humans and non-humans to coexist in the city.

DETROIT

LAKE HURON

TOLEDO CLEVELAND

LONDON

ERIE LAKE ERIE

TORONTO

Cooling Oasis

A series of District sample section illustrate how by carefully carving the existing tree canopy and increasing the density, the design offsets spikes in surface temperatures and increases climatic comfort.

Urban sites in the United States tend to run between one to seven degrees warmer than outlying areas. It’s a phenomenon known as the urban “heat island effect”. This “effect” is caused by the difference of materials covering the ground in urban areas versus the countryside. Large swaths of urban road pavement, sidewalks, and concrete building foundations replace the open land and native forests of the countryside. Ever notice how evenings cool off more, and more quickly, in rural areas than they do in cities? Also, how urban areas also tend to get hotter during the day than any nearby areas with lots of greenery? In the country, evaporation of water from soil and the leaves of plants helps to cool the air. Cities, though, have covered much of the soil and oncegreen areas with roads, sidewalks, and buildings. As they have fewer trees and greenspaces, urban areas have less evaporative cooling. Dark roads, roofs, and other building materials also reflect less sunlight, thus adding to increased temperatures within a city.

As a solution, CCPI plans to increase the tree canopy by 60%. The introduction of a denser planting strategy promises to reduce temperatures in the District by up to 7 degrees. The careful carving of the canopy also creates outdoor living spaces and multi-scalar experiences.

Dry and wet conditions will vary throughout the District, due to the levee effect of the Square. Efficient

drainage is engineered into the system, designed to curtail the risk of swampy patches or boggy fields. The retaining wall can create efficiently draining micro-wetlands, and all levels of easily-maintained natural environments. The variety of ground conditions enables the potential for micro-climates, which amplifies the sense of inclusivity and offers comfortable conditions for all visitors. Drainage designed for maximum efficiency creates welcoming environments without fostering pest populations.

By transforming 16 acres of paved surface into lush landscape, the heat island effect can be reduced by up to 7 degrees

The Science Center Garden is a case study in micro-climate, with educational information about the water cycle, atmosphere, and ecosystem design. Engagement with a locally-developed app will show the sheer impact of mitigating negative building practices. The sunken garden offers a macro view from the footbridge, as well as a more intimate experience to be explored below. It is a small climate machine that will serve as a fascinating example of landscape intervention that is sure to be employed increasingly as a solution to climate change.

The Science Center Garden is a case study in micro-climate, with didactic information about the water cycle, atmosphere, and ecosystem design—potentially even more detailed through engagement with an app.

STRENGTHENING SYSTEMS

District Landscape Proposal

the integration of new materials and technologies. At the same time, the District offers beautiful and accessible space around culturally significant institutions, with infrastructure that adjusts to the changing social and ecological needs of Detroit. This integrated approach exceeds the requirements of sustainable constructions and pledges to create a sustainable territory that will strengthen not only the site’s biodiversity, but the health of the larger city.

Carving the Ground and Canopy

The District plan is based on three main objectives: Develop an urban ecosystem that hybridizes city and nature; establish a synergistic relationship between the underground, the city-ground, and the datum above; and create a landscape able to host activities that range from the daily to the large-scale.

The subtractive process first carefully and systematically shapes portions of the ground, creating a continuous character allowing for maximum versatility - both pedestrian and automotive. This newly defined landscape also creates the space necessary for CCPI to incorporate stormwater infrastructure to help mitigate the effects of runoff. Efficiently draining micro-wetlands and easily-maintained natural environments amplify a sense of responsibility and offers comfortable conditions for all visitors. The plan will also deploy a supplemented canopy of vegetation. By creating continuity in the landscape at different elevations, natural relations between the datum above and below are re-established, and distinct micro-ecosystems with variable atmospheric conditions that support different intensities of biodiversity are created.

Olivier Philippe Principal, Agence Ter

Right: Three datums are considered in the definition of the landscape: the underground, the ground, and the horizon. These datums are carefully modified to establish new environments and redefine the relationship between individual and environment.

DISTRICT LANDSCAPE PROPOSAL

By designing the project through the lens of physical, historical,geographical, and memory- based elements, we have a better shared understanding of the challenges implicit to the site and have been able to foster dialogue between all stakeholders. The design team has worked to achieve a balance between contextual and conceptual approach to the design of the District in order to ensure the relevance and longevity of this intervention.

Planting Principals

Landscaping at a district-scale can be implemented in a method that has significant positive impacts on the environment. The plan consciously incorporates strategies of landscape sustainability to minimize the carbon footprint of the District and support the local ecosystem. Acknowledging that plant variety and planting strategy are vital elements in sustainable landscaping, CCPI has devised planting principles to guide the design in a beautiful, efficient, economical, and sustainable direction.

At a District scale, the concept of a flowered carpet provides continuous and successive waves of colors, textures, and structure all year long. This mix of native grasses and perennials are intended to be planted in a naturalistic meadow-like effect, reducing the amount of maintenance annually and encouraging the return of native fauna. Mass planted grasses will bring unity and coherence to the whole, and will maintain appearance for a large proportion of the year, with subtle shades of color and cloudy effect.

At a more micro-scale, three types of native plants will define the landscape. The plants are:

Structure Plants

Perennials that will maintain solid structure for an extended period of time. This category of plant will be scattered throughout the landscape, adding rhythm, repetition, and variation to the District’s planting scheme.

Filler Plants

Ornamental perennials that bring contrast and extra interest to the landscape design. The native plants that will be used in this category are chosen for the color of flowers or leaves. Filler plants will add a sensational burst of seasonal color and diversity to the landscape.

Upright Plants

Characterized by their dramatic or vertical shape, CCPI uses upright plants to create surprising accents. These plants are most visible in the plan emerging from the grasses adjacent to the Necklace.

Left Top: Inspired by impressionism, the design team established a gradient of landscape conditions

Left Bottom: The flowered carpet is a linear planting strategy that allows for a wide-range of native plant varieties, and pedestrian experiences throughout the District.

DISTRICT LANDSCAPE PROPOSAL

The Necklace on the South lawn of the Detroit Public Library provides an intimate pathway through the District for residents and visitors alike.

Contributing Elements

SHADED/WET LANDSCAPE

OPEN/WET LANDSCAPE

SHADED/DRY LANDSCAPE

OPEN/DRY LANDSCAPE

Each of these landscape conditions brings unique advantages to climate and biodiversity. The different environments of the Ecotone produce micro-climates to ensure a thriving and comfortable experience to all visitors.

CCPI takes responsibility to lighten the burden placed on aging sewer and stormwater systems by the institutions, residents, and the urban landscape. Efficient drainage is engineered into the overall system of the District, and consideration for mitigation strategies have been designed into each of the plan’s framework elements as explained below:

The Square

The Square is the set of major EastWest streets converted from large auto-centric driveways to pedestrian experiences that frame the District. The Square narrows the impervious surface of the street, returning a parking lane to a pervious landscape strategy. Dry and wet conditions will vary throughout the District, due to the levee effect of the Square. Efficient drainage is engineered into the system that is designed to curtail the risk of swampy patches or boggy fields. The Square is an engineered retaining wall that can create efficiently draining micro-wetlands, and easilymaintained natural environments.

The Ecotone

This Ecotone is both efficient and aesthetic. Doing the work of water

management; providing shade; enlivening and beautifying the open spaces between institutions; this element introduces different ground conditions, visual perspectives, and ecological interventions into the District. Located on either side of the Band, the Ecotone is designed to address climate adaptation while providing valuable solutions to issues

“The Cultural Center Planning Initiative strives to be an example for the City of Detroit on what a District-scale initiative can do to stabilize medium density areas, promote economic development and improve water and air quality all while building resiliency.

Anya Sirota Principal, Akoaki

A typical section of the District illustrating the relationship between the Square, the Ecotone, and the Necklace.

such as overheating, biodiversity, pollution, and mitigating rain events.

Where the Square is formal, legible, and broad, the Ecotone is diffuse, thick, and nonhomogeneous. The proximity of formal structures and intimate vegetal conditions creates a dynamic juxtaposition. The Ecotone crosses the Square in places, with a tree canopy uniting them into a continuous experience. These moments blur the edges of the District and make a more seamless transition at entry and exit. At an unprecedented scale, the

Ecotone incorporates nature into the heart of Detroit, creating social value, new meeting places, and a more active everyday life. Here, CCPI seamlessly merges infrastructure with the beauty of inhabitable landscape, making engineering and ecological requirements a public attractor.

The Necklace

This meandering passway around the District has its own agenda; if the Square is the destination, then the Necklace is the journey. The walking

HIGH CANOPY LEVEL

BUSHY LEVEL

path links micro-environments and encounters. As a tool for navigating the District, the Necklace also provides opportunities for education.

The

Band

General, open, and adaptive, the Band does more than connect the District’s adjacent institutions: it generously provides space for civic activity and stormwater management by consolidating parking below ground. Consider the city plaza as a green commons. The District plan also connects campus plans with Wayne

State University by extending the Band west of Cass Avenue. Beyond the gesture of uniting two distinct campuses, this formal gesture also extends the impact of stormwater strategies. The Band uses green roof structure and engineered drainage systems to make underground parking even more beneficial to the overall project.

FREDERICK STREET

FARNSWORTH STREET

E. KIRBY STREET

JOHN R STREET S4 S5 S6 S8 GUIDING PLAN

BRUSH STREET

S1 | Cass Avenue

WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY RIGHT-OF-WAY 80'-0"

+151'-0" T.O. THE SQUARE

5'-0" BIKE PARK. LN. TRAV. LN. PARK. LN. TRAV. LN.

5'-0" 15'-0"

10'-6"9'-6"10'-0"10'-0"10'-0"10'-0" P.BEDSSWALK SWALK BIKE

BAND CONNECTION

10'-0" TRAVEL LN. PARK. LN. 22' MIN. PEDESTRIAN PED.

LOADINGBUS LN. 10'-0"10'-0" TRAVEL LN.

17'-11" 10'-0" EQ. 12'-2" EQ.

BIKE BIKE

S2 | Cass Avenue

WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY

80'-0"

RIGHT-OF-WAY

9'-6"

5'-0"

10'-0"10'-0"10'-0" 10'-0"

S-WALK PARK. LN. TRAV. LN. PARK. LN. TRAV. LN.

P.BEDSS-WALK BIKE

+152

25'-0" 17'-11" 10'-0"

25'-0" 10'-6" 12'-4" 10'-0"

PEDESTRIAN GREEN BUFFER BUS LANE TRAVEL LN.

10'-0" TRAVEL LN. PARK. LN.

DETROIT

Kirby

DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY RIGHT-OF-WAY 52'-10"

VARIES

BIORETENTION (DPL) BIORETENTION (PUBLIC)

BIORETENTION

2.36" CLAY

+152'-0" T.O. THE SQUARE

S5 | Brush Street

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS

PUBLIC GREEN

UNDERGROUND PARKING EXIT RAMP

S6 | Farnsworth Street

BIORETENTION PLANTS 2.36" CLAY SOIL OVERFLOW

RIGHT-OF-WAY 70'-0" DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS G

+150.45 +150.5 +151 +152+151.82 +151.13 +151.10 2%+152 +147.75 +138.5 +129.75

EMV CLEARANCE

15'-0" 15'-0" 10'-0" 11'-8" 10'-0"10'-0" PEDESTRIAN 16'-10" PARKING LANE TRAVEL LANE RAMP UP RAMP DOWN TRAVEL LANE 58'-0"

VARIES THE SQUARE BIORETENTION (DIA/PUBLIC)

RACKHAM BUILDING

+163.69 +159.68 +162.75 BIORETENTION PONDING BIORETENTION SUBSTRATION

+156.6 +158.49 +158.72+158.72 BARRIER

+146'-6" B.O. DETENTION +152'-0" T.O. THE SQUARE 11'-4" 10'-0" 10'-0" TRAVEL LANE PARKING LANE PED.

GG

2% 0'5'10'20' +143'-6" B.O. RETENTION VARIES VARIES BIORETENTION (DPL) BIORETENTION (PUBLIC)

SECTION: FARNSWORTH STREET

RIGHT-OF-WAY

17'-7 1/4" 10'-3"10'-0"10'-0"10'-0"10'-0" S-WALK PARK. LN. TRAVEL LN. TRAVEL LN. PARK. LN. S-WALK

OVERFLOW 48'-0" 7'-0"10'-0"

BUFFER 10'-10" BIORETEN. (PUBLIC)

THE SQUARE BIORETEN. (PUBLIC)

S8 | Warren Avenue

RACKHAM BUILDING PARKING GARAGE

RIGHT-OF-WAY 146'-9"

11'-1"11'-1" 14'-8" 11'-1"11'-1" 24'-0"

S-WALK PARK. LN. TRAVEL LN. TRAVEL LN. TRAVEL LN. GREEN BUFFER

11'-1"11'-1" 14'-8" 11'-1"11'-1" 4'-0" 8'-0" S-WALK BIKE PARK. LN. TRAVEL LN. TRAVEL LN. U-TURN

146'-9"

RIGHT-OF-WAY

24'-0" 11'-1"11'-1"11'-1"11'-1" VARIES GREEN BUFFER TRAVEL LN. TRAVEL LN. TRAVEL LN. PARK. LN. S-WALK 4'-0" 11'-1"11'-1"11'-1"11'-1" VARIES 8'-0" U-TURNTRAVEL LN. TRAVEL LN. PARK. LN. BIKE S-WALK

PRIVATE

+152'-0" T.O. SIDEWALK

+151'-6" T.O. STREET

0'5'10'20'

DISTRICT LANDSCAPE PROPOSAL

A view down East Kirby Street shows what a shared street model would look like within the District.

Catalyst: Brush Street

Bolster Bioretention

Bioretention is a water quality practice of landscape design and topography manipulation that captures and temporarily stores stormwater runoff. These are typically shallow depressions which filter water without holding it continually. Runoff water is intercepted by these landscaped depressions and then filtered either through the soil to return to the water table or slowly returned to an engineered exit.

Looking at the District, CCPI’s plan transforms 17.1 acres of land to manage all Type 1 and Type 2 wet weather events. Over the course of a year, this means 15.6 million gallons of stormwater will be removed from the city’s combined systems. That’s 15.6 million gallons

of water that doesn’t need to be treated or mitigated. What happens when we scale this strategy to a city scale?

Through the Detroit Stormwater Hub, the city maps all existing Green Stormwater Infrastructure projects that have been completed or are in-progress. There are currently 27 bioretention projects within the city of Detroit, which manage 84.9 acres of land and 48 million gallons of water annually. This is a great start, but we can do better. If the City/ Land BankOwned lots are utilized to manage all Type 1 and Type 2 wet weather events, the amount of land and millions of gallons of water that will be managed will more than double.

WOODWARD AVE SEWER LINE

BRUSH SEWER LINE

WOODWARD SEWER AREA

BRUSH SEWER AREA

CITY/LANDBANK-OWNED LOTS

Left: Bioretention comparison by acres and millions of gallons

Above: The network of City and Landbank owned lots connecting to the Brush and Woodward Sewer area

Investment Impact Strategy

Each of these conditions is developed as a strategy for specific CSO mitigation. By transforming specific areas of the three to five lane streets in low traffic areas of the city, there is ample space to introduce effective combinations of green stormwater infrastructure.

This is the first step in a scalable methodology that can completely change the water management system in Detroit. We offer surface treatments in three different urban scenarios to create enough bioretention in the landscape to eliminate overflow events along the Brush Street sewer line.

Scenario One

If there are existing Storm Drains on a given street, we can effectively reroute the water from those streets to a Multilot Treatment Area, BioRetention/Bio-Detention Area.

Scenario Two

In the absence of plentiful existing storm drains, Narrow Swales can be used along Streets to effectively reroute water to a Multilot Treatment Area or Bio-Retention/Bio-Detention Area.

Scenario Three

Additional impervious areas can be managed by using either the Swales or existing Storm Drains to channel large amounts of water to Underground Storage Cells. Playgrounds, Greenscapes and Recreational Fields provide the ideal surface covering for Underground Storage Systems.

An overhaul of this City’s system need not be implemented citywide to be impactful for the system as a whole.

If there are existing Storm Drains on a given street, we can effectively reroute the water from those streets to a Multilot Treatment Area, Bio-Retention/Bio-Detention Area.

Condition Two

LOT WITH EXISTING HOUSE

In the absence of plentiful existing storm drains Narrow Swales can be used along Streets to effectively reroute water to a Multilot Treatment Area, Bio-Retention/Bio-Detention Area.

Condition Three

Additional impervious areas can be managed by using either the Swales or existing Storm Drains to channel large amounts of water to Underground Storage Cells. Playgrounds, Greenscapes and Recreational Fields provide the ideal surface covering for Underground Storage Systems.

Aligning with National Priorities

Nature-based green infrastructure methods, like those scrupulously designed for CCPI, are poised to shape American’s urban regeneration strategies in the foreseeable future. As the American Society of Landscape Architects recently noted, a myriad of federal programs approved to support progressive, environment initiatives, not only align with, but incentivize this approach on a national scale. In the past two years alone, billions of dollars have been allocated to create healthy urban environments, emphasize design techniques that ensure pedestrian and bicyclist safety, manage flooding, create habitats for pollinators, link communities to multi-modal transportation options, and improve our drinking water. A brief review of just a few of the emergent opportunities underscores the timeliness and value of CCPI’s landscape design:

Healthy Streets Program

A new trust-financed grant program supports installation of porous pavements and expanding tree cover in order to mitigate urban heat islands, improve air quality, reduce impervious surfaces, and diminish stormwater runoff and flood risks. The program has allocated $500 million over five years ($100 million a year) for communities.

Complete Streets Initiative

An all state-based initiative, Complete Streets funds projects that integrate active transportation and public transportation, connect communities through multi-use active transportation infrastructure, increase public transportation access and ridership, and improve the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians. The fund also supports the creation of new standards, policies, and plans to galvanize active transportation systems. Each state and Metropolitan Planning Organization is set to support funding to increase safe and accessible options for multiple travel modes that are inclusive of all.

Safe Streets & Roads for All Grant Program

A program conceived to support the reduction of traffic crashes and fatalities on roadways with $5 billion in emergency funding over five years ($1 billion per year). Grants will be provided to Metropolitan Planning Organizations and local governments to develop and carry out comprehensive safety plans to prevent death and injury on roads and streets, especially cyclists and pedestrians.

The Science Center Garden is an opportunity to learn more about microclimates, by demonstrating how water cycles, atmosphere, and ecosystem design work at the scale of the project and the planet.

Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement Program

$2.5 billion for fiscal year 2022 increasing to $2.7 billion for fiscal year 2026 has been allocated for projects that improve shared micromobility options, such as bikeshare and shared scooters in cities.

Multimodal Transportation Investments

$13.5 billion in emergency appropriations over five years for multimodal infrastructure has been

set aside for investment in multimodal transportation systems, with $7.5 billion specifically marked for local and regional projects of significance.

Support for Pollinators $10 million over five years to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway rights-of-way.

Invasive Plant Elimination $250 million over five years to eliminate or control existing invasive plants along transportation corridors.

Above: Proposed rooftop garden for the Detroit Institute of Arts. Next Page: The Ecotone outside of the Detroit Historical Museum

Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Grants

$1.4 billion over five years has been allocated for stormwater infrastructure projects, with particular attention paid to combined sewer and sanitary overflows.

Clean Water Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Grant Program

Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the $125 million program provides grants to support community resilience of their publicly owned treatment works against the threats of natural hazards.

Stormwater Infrastructure Technology Program

Designed to support colleges, universities and research organizations, of which CCPI boasts three on the project footprint, the EPA will administer $25 million for five new Stormwater Centers of Excellence. These centers will explore new types of nature-based green infrastructure,

methods to improve existing designs, and strategies for financing and rate-setting, public outreach, and professional training.

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

$46 billion to mitigate damage from floods, wildfires, and droughts.

Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund

Increased support for the program incentivises landscape architecture to address water quality and quantity issues.

There has never been a better time for Detroit to lead on the front of ecological and equitable urban regeneration. Every Detroiter and every Michigander has a stake in the Cultural District. The past years of shared planning have illustrated that working together we can create a cultural landscape that the city deserves.

THE CULTURAL CENTER PLANNING INITIATIVE HAS BEEN FUNDED BY:

Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan

Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation

Hudson Webber Foundation

Ralph C.Wilson,Jr. Foundation Rocket Community Fund

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The Kresge Foundation

University of Michigan

Walters Family Foundation

Wayne State University William Davidson Foundation