Green Infrastructure
Definition
Nature-based systems that manage stormwater, reduce urban heat, improve air quality, and provide community benefits using vegetation, soil, and natural processes. Examples include rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs, urban forests, permeable pavement, and constructed wetlands. Green infrastructure can cost less than traditional gray infrastructure (pipes and tunnels) while delivering multiple community benefits.
Louisville Context
MSD has installed green stormwater projects around Louisville. However, most of Louisville’s CSO investment has gone to underground tunnels and basins rather than green infrastructure. Louisville has significant opportunity to expand green infrastructure in partnership with Parks Department and community organizations.
Why It Matters
Green infrastructure provides better value than pipes and tunnels by managing stormwater while also reducing flooding, cooling neighborhoods, creating habitat, and improving property values. Communities with green infrastructure see lower sewer rates and higher quality of life than those relying solely on underground systems.
My Proposal
I will shift Louisville’s infrastructure priorities toward green solutions that deliver multiple benefits. My budget-neutral approach reallocates $15 million annually from planned gray infrastructure to green infrastructure, creating jobs while cooling neighborhoods and managing stormwater more cost-effectively.