The Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain aims to help students create sustainable communities, where humans and nature flourish in the present and future. One SLS Priority area concerning sustainable communities is Green Infrastructure, which focuses on achieving a society in which our buildings, neighborhoods, and cities promote environmental justice and allow the local environment to flourish. 

Newsworthy - Green Infrastructure

The article below delve deeper into stories surrounding the topic of Green Infrastructure.

As Green Infrastructure Pioneers, Philadelphia is Primed for Workforce Development
 
James Kenney, the Mayor of The City of Philadelphia, discusses how the Green City, Clean Waters program addresses both stormwater runoff and sewage overflows, while also creating more green infrastructure jobs for “at-risk youth” in the city”.

Policy Innovations in Green Infrastructure Governance

In this article, Dr. Jason Byrne, Dr Tony Matthews and Dr. Christopher Ambrey discuss how green infrastructure and the right policies can reduce the urban heat island effect and increase overall well-being.

This "Thirsty" Concrete Absorbs 880 Gallons of Water a Minute - Here's How It Works

Read about how a mix of concrete can absorb over 1000 liters of water per square meter per minute, thus reducing water runoff and erosion to cityscapes.

Why Walkable Cities are Good for the Economy, According to a City Planner

In this Vox article, Aditi Shrikant explains how green urban infrastructure can help develop a cities economy, diversify populations and promote income equality through close analysis of Jeff Speck’s new book Walkability City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places. Be sure to check out this great video showing Barcelona’s approach to creating walkable cities. 

City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management

You might be asking "What is Green Infrastructure?"  Start here!  The ATL Dept. of Watershed Management has made a comprehensive list of what exactly green infrastructure is, the challeneges/benefits of it, what is being done in Atlanta to promote green infrastructure, and much more.

Food rescue group Second Helpings Atlanta makes great save at Super Bowl

Second Helpings Atlanta (SHA) is an organization that rescues foor from corporate events and donates it to organizations in need.  Within a 10-day period, SHA rescued 17,044 pounds of food from 10 events.  That was food that would otherwise have been "dumped in big, green dumpsters and hauled off to a landfill," said the group's Executive Director, Joe Labriola.  Instead, the food picked up was delivered to 21 of the food rescue's partner agencies location near the Mercedes Benz stadium.  Following the Super Bowl, SHA rescued 7,392 pounds of prepared food at the stadium in its biggest and most complex food rescue to date.

Kendeda Building celebrates completion — and the workers who made it happen

Recently, Georgia Tech opened the doors of the Kendeda Building for Innovative and Sustainable Design, funded through the Kendeda Fund.  This building is the epitome of Green; with every drop of water that touches it being reused, its ability to be completely net-zero while powering other buildings on campus, and much more, this building is sure to attract a lot of green infrastructure attention.  The KBISD is the first building in the Southeast to meet and exceed a comprehensive list of requirements through 7 "petals" laid out by the Living Building Challenge.  Read more about the building, and be sure to stop by and see its beautiful and equitable design next time you're on campus!

Cities From the Sea: The True Cost of Reclaimed Land

New luxury condominiums, built on 240-acres of land artificially claimed from the sea, are part of the Seri Tanjung Pinang 1 (STP1) project.  Started in 2006, the project brought a taste of new Asian modernity to what was then a rural area beyond the fringes of George Town, Penang's only city.  It also took away the fish, says fisherman Mohd-Ishak Bin Abdul Rahman.  Read more about the cost of land reclamation.  

Green infrastructure can cool our cities. So what are planners waiting for?

One of the most "cool" aspects of green infrastructure is that it does just that - it helps a city stay cool.  Imagine a building or skyscraper having live plants and moss growing on  one side of it, or having a tree garden on the top of an apartment complex.  Not only does this drastically improve air quality in the surrounding areas, but it helps reduce warming effects that cities often have.  However, many developers and planners aren't rushing to implement this useful strategy.  Read more about why not.

Black Women Are Leaders in the Climate Movement

Despite stereotypes of a lack of interest in environmental issues among African-Americans, black women, particularly Southern black women, are no strangers to environmental activism. Many of them live in communities with polluted air and water, work in industries from housekeeping to hairdressing where they are surrounded by toxic chemicals and have limited food options that are often impacted by pesticides. Environmentalism, in other words, is a black issue.  Read more in the New York Times article featuring SLS partner and West Atlanta Watershed Alliance Chairperson Na'Taki Osborne Jelks.