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Green Development Literature Search

Literature Summary and Benefits
Associated with Alternative Development Approaches

Executive Summary

Many communities dealing with intense urban development are faced with new challenges in implementing environmental protection and water quality-based controls while trying to meet conflicting expectations and the multi objective preferences of the local public, developers, and environmentalists. To address this challenging and continuously changing issue, the United State Environmental Protection Agency Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds is developing the Green Development approach to make urban growth and development work with existing environmental resources. This Green Development framework will promote better approaches to development and management of development impacts through the use of alternative site planning, zoning, grading, natural resources protection, site layout, and stormwater management options.

Through literature compilation, review, and analysis, EPA's Oceans and Coastal Protection Division (OCPD) hopes to identify common problems with urban development practices, encourage cooperation among resources managers and integrate solutions across a variety of stakeholders and perspectives. The issues include the purpose of Green Development; problems with typical site planning and stormwater management structural and non- structural source control options and their importance to the overall development design; sustainable development; various regulations currently shaping site planning efforts; federal, state, and local issues pertaining to grading, sediment control, stormwater management, wetlands, tree conservation, waterway construction; importance of identifying tools available to collect and process information, apply tools, collect data, process and display data, and analyze quantitative and qualitative results; and proposed innovative approaches for urban site planning and design. This document is a cumulation of examples, case studies, and issues related to urban development and the implementation of Green Development.

Presented to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds; Rod Frederick, Work Assignment Manager; in conjunction with Oceans and Coastal Protection Division; Margherita Pryor, Jessica Cogan; September 30, 1996; Prepared by--Tetra Tech, Inc., 10306 Eaton Place, Suite 340, Fairfax, VA 22030; Under EPA Contract #68-C3-0303; Work Assignment #3-112

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