In 2007, recognizing stormwater runoff as a major contributor to water pollution, the state of Maryland mandated that all development and redevelopment must utilize environmental site design (ESD) to the ‘maximum extent practicable’. ESD installations feature trees, native plants, and soil as well as engineered elements to mimic the pre-development conditions of a given site. These installations are often referred to as green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and are argued to provide social, health, and economic co-benefits. Thus, GSI aims at transformative ends – a technological system both ecologically sound and socially rehabilitative.
In the 10 years since this regulation was passed, questions over who designs, installs, and is responsible for GSI remain controversial. This is especially true in urban areas such as Baltimore City where available space in the public right of way to place GSI is extremely limited. Professionals tasked with the implementation of these structures lament a lack of agreed upon design and maintenance standards. In this presentation, I draw from semi-structured interviews to demonstrate how this novel technological form has challenged the professional identities of engineers, landscape architects, and urban planners.
Results/Conclusions
This presentation traces the professional and epistemological struggles central to struggles over green stormwater infrastructure. Our research demonstrates that as the popularity of GSI spreads, Baltimore grapples with familiar quandaries related to maintenance, repair, and civic interruptions that emerge upon the introduction of new material forms into the environment. Furthermore, in highly segregated cities, such as Baltimore, system designers struggle with how to equitably distribute installations while also remaining receptive to the concerns and desires of local communities.
These changes require a variety of practitioners adapt to new technological forms and standards. By drawing together these multiple professional conflicts, I suggest that struggles over expertise offer one potential space for practical intervention in the future scaling and stabilization of transformative, sustainable infrastructures. Furthermore, this research suggests that fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and diverse scholarship might be one step towards building more inclusive communities of GSI practitioners.