Each semester the Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning Colloquium (LD ARCH 253, Instructor: Matt Kondolf) brings together distinguished speakers (professionals, academics, practitioners, and graduate students) to present projects relevant to the landscape architecture and environmental planning professions. The colloquium attracts a diverse group of students from the College of Environmental Design, and the entire Berkeley community is invited to attend.

Victoria Chanse, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, Clemson University

"Investigating Ecological Design Guidelines as a Framework for Planning a Stormwater Retrofit Project in Aiken, South Carolina"

With the development of LEED for Neighborhood Development guidelines and more recently, the Sustainable Sites InitiativeTM guidelines and performance benchmarks, ecological design guidelines play a growing role in all phases of project development. Since 2008, Clemson University Restoration Institute and the Center for Watershed Excellence have been working with the City of Aiken in South Carolina to develop a river restoration approach to resolve the severe erosion caused by stormwater runoff from the downtown area. This research investigates how one particular aspect of this project — the green infrastructure demonstration project in downtown Aiken — can be examined within the framework of the Sustainable Sites InitiativeTM design guidelines to assess sustainable approaches to project planning, materials, construction, stormwater, and ecology. This research will address the question of how Aiken’s stormwater management approaches, designs, and construction phases are evolving within the framework provided by the SSI design guidelines. This will build upon existing research on public involvement and stormwater management practices in Aiken. This talk will 1) introduce the project context and the Sustainable Sites InitiativeTM guidelines; 2) discuss the project details; and 3) evaluate how the Sustainable Sites InitiativeTM pilot project guidelines are shaping Aiken’s green infrastructure demonstration project.