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Recommendations for Sustainable Brownfields Redevelopment in the Jewelry District

Waterfront

We found that the most important sustainable concepts for the Jewelry District’s Waterfront area are the concepts that directly address the area’s main environmental issues: storm water runoff and groundwater flow into the Providence River. These are major issues because of the historical contamination that has leached into the water-table below the Waterfront, which then flows with groundwater to the Providence River. There is also the practical risk of contamination from new developments that can enter ground water or simply storm-water runoff and flow directly into the Providence River via streets or storm drains. In order to address these issues through brownfield redevelopment on the Waterfront of the Jewelry District, we recommend the following two sustainable design practices:

Control Storm-Water Runoff & Ground-Water Contaminants

Storm-water runoff can be controlled in many ways, and new buildings can make a significant difference without sacrificing much during development. For example, impermeable surfaces are some of the largest contributors to storm-water runoff. Simply put, they cause water to flow anywhere but into the ground. Building developers can tackle this problem by lowering their impermeable surface footprint. By limiting parking lot space in addition to local zoning and subdivision requirements, and creating parking lots that allow rain water to enter the soil (these are also called permeable lots), buildings can make a significant difference in the amount of storm-water that runs-off of their premises. In addition, permeable surfaces are a convenient method for taking advantage of natural and artificial filtration systems. That is, retaining storm water underground and filtering it before any possible contamination can enter the water-table and flow into the Providence River is a possible technique for reducing contaminated storm-water flow into the river. Another technique is to incorporate a green roof on top of the building. Plants and soils need water, and by planting a community of shrubs, flowers, and grasses on a buildings roof, the amount of storm water that runs-off of the building can be significantly reduced.

Non-contaminated ground water is a little bit trickier to tackle, but it can be done. With some planning and a sustainable outlook in mind, developers can create buildings with a Low Impact Design (LID) that release as little chemicals into the ground as possible. This can be accomplished by but is certainly not limited to the following:

The use of non-toxic paints
Implementing an underground water filtration system
Implementing underground infrastructure that will not leak over time (such as sewage pipes).

Energy Efficiency

Another important sustainable feature for the Jewelry District’s Waterfront redevelopment is energy efficiency. Although this sustainable practice does not directly address storm-water and ground-water issues in the waterfront area, it reduces the amount of pollution created by power companies elsewhere. Power plants pollute ample amounts of pollution, and considering that there is a power plant located directly on the waterfront in the Jewelry District, it is symbolic and beneficial for all redevelopment in this area to greatly reduce energy use and increase energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency is a practice that gets cheaper by the year, but can still be on the costly side for developers depending on what they choose to implement. Creating energy efficient buildings can be accomplished but are certainly not limited to the following methods:

Energy Efficient Light bulbs (compact fluorescents).
Appropriately sized HVAC systems for efficiency.
Good insulation for efficiency.
Natural Daylight exposure in buildings to reduce the demand

for artificial lighting.

Solar (Photo-Voltaic) Panels & Solar-Hot Water Heating Panels for self electrical and hot-water generation.
Urban Wind Turbines for self electrical generation.