Your role is to develop a project that addresses the following broad areas;
land, air, water, biodiversity and ecosystems, and resource management, in the context of sustainable development.
Specific environmental impacts to consider in these areas may include the following:
The current land use distributions and relationship to the brownfield sites. The major land use in Trenton is Urban. Within the urban areas, approximately 40% is Residential, 25% commercial & services, and 6% industrial.
Water quality (ie: non-point pollution) and quantity (impervious surfaces, runoff, storm water management). This should include wetlands, flood zones and rivers and streams such as Assunpink Creek and the Delaware River. You may also use as watershed perspective for discussion.
Air Quality. This can include particulate matter & smog, toxic sulfates and nitrous oxides and carbon dioxide (a major anthropogenic greenhouse gas).
Ecosystems and Biodiversity. Biological indicators are frequently used to determine ecosystem health. You may also consider endangered species, including fish, birds, other wildlife and the use of native species to promote natural community succession.
Resource Conservation. Evaluate the impacts on waste management, energy and natural resources.
Make sure your concepts are innovative, creative, address potential impacts on society and the economy and include mechanisms for sustainability. Try to think about a holistic system and not reductionistic view of parts. A systems approach values relationships over parts, and relationships do not have to be created in the real world, they already exist (Senge et al. 1994). For example, if you suggest preserving an open space or creating a park, consider all negative and positive impacts in the context of the pre-existing relationships between the environment, social issues, and then economy and to sustainability within the space and across the community. Your plans should be diverse and inclusive of impacts to air, water, land and ecosystems, issues of human health and asthma, building a sense of community and pride, the aesthetic value of nature and natural resources, human population use of the space, traffic, crime, economy change and maintenance, and links to institutions evaluating and using scientific information and the scientific method for decision making.
You will prepare the following:
- A prioritized list of measurable sustainability indicators for your specific area of expertise
- An evaluation of all twelve brownfield sites with specific recommendations for each site in the context of your area of expertise and sustainable development
- A report with an evaluation and recommendations not exceeding 5 pages to be e-mailed to the project manager, all team members, and the instructor
You should respond to the following in the preparation of your report:
List, rank, and describe the five of the most important factors you perceive for creating a sustainable environment in Trenton.
- Discuss the role of open space and the need for natural habitats in an urban setting.
- Describe the benefits of the proposed redevelopment plan to the environment and how these benefits
The project manager will conduct a meeting to discuss all twelve brownfield sites. The company will discuss each site and then propose a preliminary plan including which site or sites (totaling 10 acres) should be redeveloped and the type of redevelopment.
Experts will then customize their original research to fit the goals and objectives of the preliminary plan and e-mail it to the project manager and all team members.
The project manager will coordinate collaborations between specific areas to ensure that the final plan is (appropriated) balanced and addresses the most measurable sustainability indicators possible.
The final plan (project) will be prepared and presented in a ½ hour oral and visual presentation. Each (team) member of the consulting firm will be responsible for 5 minutes of the ½ hour presentation to the “Trenton City Council” (the class).