Green Infrastructure

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Green infrastructure uses vegetation, soils, landscape features, and often simple technologies to provide environmental services within a community. It is a way of building nature into your town that will dress up or eliminate barren areas of asphalt, concrete, and drainpipes while serving important ecological functions. 

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Benefits of Green Infrastructure

  • Effective stormwater drainage
  • Cleaner air
  • Erosion prevention
  • Reduction of heat associated with concrete and asphalt
  • Financial savings 
  • Higher property values
  • More trails and outdoor recreation opportunities
  • Habitat for local and migratory birds and other wildlife

Examples of Green Infrastructure

  • Vegetation on the roofs of buildings to absorb rainwater and provide insulation
  • Permeable pavement designed to drain water
  • Strips of vegetation planted in key locations to absorb runoff, filter pollutants, and reduce erosion
  • Trees planted along streets and parking lots to provide shade and reduce urban heat
  • Wetlands constructed as part of a wastewater management system

Incorporating green infrastructure may be easier than you think. Contact your local MDC office for more information.

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Native plants and rocks in dry streambed between sidewalk and parking lot.
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Bioswales provide drainage and also add beauty. 

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Additional Resources