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Senior Design
Engineered Stormwater Management for Low-Income Urban Communities
Faculty Advisors:
Christopher Obropta, Cook College Bioenvironmental Engineering Department,
Karen O'Neill, Cook College Human Ecology Department
Student Team
Members:
David Berry, Karan Bhandari, Gregory Rusciano, and Kristine Yates, Bioenvironmental
Engineering Department
Mike Avery and John Donnelly, Landscape Architecture Department
Medea Villere, Environmental Policy, Institutions, and Behavior Department
Project Period:
September 15, 2004 through September 14, 2006
Project
Description:
This project focuses on improving the urban landscape through the creation
of socially beneficial green spaces, while simultaneously improving environmental
quality. The success of this project depends on promoting environmental
awareness throughout the community. This pilot project is designed for
the Weequahic Park neighborhood of the City of Newark, New Jersey, but
its concepts are to act as a reference guide for stormwater management
in urban areas throughout the world.
The design team has identified Dayton Street Elementary School and the Seth Boyden Public Housing Complex (Newark Housing Authority) as candidate sites that will benefit greatly from stormwater management. These sites were selected because they possess attributes shared by many urban communities: large areas of impervious surfaces, few green spaces, nonexistent stormwater management, and a lack of funds to ameliorate these problems. These sites are also contributors of non-point source (NPS) pollution; they discharge into a combined sewer system that regularly overflows due to high volumes, spilling effluent into the streets of Newark.
Outcomes of the proposed designs include a better quality of life for the students and employees of Dayton Street School, as well as the local residents of the Seth Boyden Complex and the surrounding community. The students and employees will benefit through the creation of a recreational area that will serve as a biofilter, as well as an educational tool to teach students about hydrologic processes, impacts of stormwater, and potential careers in the field of natural resources and environmental studies. Residents will be able to take greater pride in their community through the beautification of their surroundings and the job training opportunities that will be created for community members through the project implementation process.
