For improved water efficiency in cities, water managers and urban planners must coordinate their efforts better, according to a new report led by University of Arizona landscape architecture and planning researchers.
Lack of time and resources and practitioners not in the habit of working together were cited as the main factors stymieing better collaboration, according to responses to a national survey of water managers and urban planners. The report includes a tool for practitioners to identify goals for collaboration and what barriers might stand in their way.
The first steps toward improved collaboration include joint training sessions where water managers and urban planners hear each other's challenges and brainstorm ways of coordinating their work. Where coordination works well, a water engineer might sit in on development review meetings for new projects and weigh in during permitting to ensure that the new development would achieve groundwater and stormwater goals of regional and state agencies.
In the future, water managers and urban planners could help staff each other's agencies for a complete integration of the two functions.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Aug 17, 2018
Zoning changes can be crucial to filling large, empty retail spaces
Alternative uses often require action by local officials.
Codes and Standards | Aug 16, 2018
Nearly a quarter of opioid overdose deaths attributable to construction workers
Massachusetts public health study finds pressure to work in pain contributes to problem.
Codes and Standards | Aug 15, 2018
ICC creates new committee on building safety and security
Will include experts from many different disciplines.
Codes and Standards | Aug 14, 2018
Philadelphia adopts 2018 IECC energy code, while state opts for 2015 code
City is one of the first jurisdictions to adopt newest code.
Codes and Standards | Aug 9, 2018
Denver’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030 includes net zero energy buildings
Community solar programs for low income residents part of plan.
Codes and Standards | Aug 8, 2018
Too much parking in U.S. cities proving costly
As car ownership rates drop, excess parking seems more wasteful.
Codes and Standards | Aug 7, 2018
International Fire Safety Standards (IFSS) Coalition created
Professional associations and building standards organizations join forces.
Codes and Standards | Jul 31, 2018
Workers allegedly held in captivity by construction subcontractor in San Jose pay theft case
Contractor pays $250,000 in back wages in Dept. of Labor enforcement action.
Codes and Standards | Jul 17, 2018
Heat island effect can turn deadly in extreme conditions
Of all the impacts of global climate change, it’s extreme heat that kills more Americans each year than any other weather-related event.
Codes and Standards | Jul 17, 2018
NIMBYism, generational divide threaten plan for net-zero village in St. Paul, Minn.
The ambitious redevelopment proposal for a former Ford automotive plant creates tension.
