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Guidebook or
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Conservation development is a design strategy to protect and preserve
onsite and offsite natural resources from development impacts. As
development sites are planned, topography, soils, vegetation, natural
drainage patterns, and other sensitive or unique landscape features are
considered as important resources deserving of protection and enhancement. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) are also integrated into the
development site, with the primary goal of protecting and restoring
natural hydrology, preventing flooding, and protecting habitat and water
quality. Thus, water is treated as a resource to be valued and respected
rather than treated as a waste product.
Conservation Development in Practice illustrates and describes design
principles, best management practices, and site design strategies that can
help achieve the above goals. These techniques are presented as an
alternative to conventional development that tends to use hard engineered
structures, such as sewer pipes and unnatural detention basins, to get rid
of stormwater as fast as possible. This type of conventional development
stormwater management can have adverse impacts on downstream habitat
quality and flooding, and does nothing to enhance the habitat and
aesthetics of the local environment. Conservation development, on the
other hand, uses the natural landscape to mimic natural hydrologic
processes and manage stormwater closer to where it falls by absorbing,
slowing, and filtering runoff.
The guidebook begins broadly by placing conservation development within
the context of sustainable development, that is, the incorporation of
environmental integrity, economic prosperity, and community livability
into development decisions. This is followed by eight sustainable
development principles for protecting nature created and adopted by
Chicago Wilderness. Conservation design at a variety of scales, including
the watershed, county, municipality, community, neighborhood, and the
individual development lot, is then described to demonstrate the
cumulative effect of conservation practices.
Benefits and cost implications of a six different best management
practices for conservation development are provided for:
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Green roofs
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Bioswales and rain gardens
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Native landscaping
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Permeable or perforated paving materials or pavers
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Filter strips and level spreaders
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Naturalized detention basins
Conservation design templates are then juxtaposed with conventional
templates to present examples of development designs that incorporate the
above BMPs. These are presented for commercial, industrial, and
multi-family development; moderate density residential development; rural
residential development; and estate residential development. Finally, a
cut sheet Conservation Development Checklist provides a series of yes or
no questions for decision makers regarding the use of conservation design
techniques.
