Greening grey infrastructure: innovation to implementation
This event is currently FULLY BOOKED
From innovation to implementation: how to use nature to improve the
sustainability, resilience and multifunctionality of hard urban
infrastructure.
This webinar is free to attend.
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There is a growing emphasis on sustainable, resilient infrastructure and urban communities by central government, the technology strategy board and research councils. Green infrastructure principles can be applied to a broad range of hard infrastructure that must remain grey in many urban settings. This webinar focuses on these hard grey assets (e.g. walls, coastal defences, sewage outfalls) and how we can retrofit or design them to be more multifunctional – whilst performing their primary function. A global synthesis of innovative applications of eco-engineering are used to illustrate the potential techniques that can be applied in the built environment as well as hard infrastructure assets (e.g. pilings and seawalls) along rivers and coasts. These techniques can improve asset resilience, biodiversity, target commercially important species and/or absorb pollutants.
Recent discussions between the research base, industry, government and academia on the topic of “using nature to improve asset resilience and multifunctionality” found that further work is needed – and quickly – to ensure that academic research and innovation is effectively brokered such that it leads to widespread application.
This webinar aims to:
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Provide an overview of the current research and applications
- Illustrate the benefits of ‘greening grey’ infrastructure (where it needs to remain grey)
- Present the drivers, costs and designs of several case studies demonstrating application of these ideas to date.
Related reading and information
The following CIRIA briefings and weblinks will provide some background into the topic.
Using green infrastructure and nature to manage flood risk
Enhancing hard infrastructure for improved multifunctionality
This webinar will provide delegates with training in this emerging area of green infrastructure and eco-engineering, and be designed with ample time for questions and discussion. The webinar will also be accompanied by two short (10 minute) surveys which forms part of a consultation to gain insight and expertise from industry practitioners about:
Survey 1: Prior knowledge of greening grey assets and guidance on this.
Survey 2: Future Needs Assessment
- The amount and type of data needed to enable widespread application
- Best ways of packaging existing evidence to enable uptake in new projects by consultants and contractors
- Key directions and locations for future research to generate sufficient evidence to move from innovation to widespread application
CPD
This webinar has a value of 1 hour towards your CPD. Certificates will be sent to delegates following completion.
This project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to Dr. Larissa Naylor (P-I), Dr. Martin Coombes (Co-I) and Dr. Susan Fitzer (PDRA).
The project has the support of multiple organisations including the Universities of Glasgow, Oxford, Heriot-Watt, Dundee, Newcastle and Twente; the Environment Agency; CIRIA, Glasgow City Council; Scottish Green Infrastructure Forum; Mott MacDonald; Historic Scotland; Portland Port Authority; Arc-Consulting