ABSTRACT
The consequences of not implementing green infrastructure and the benefits of implementing it need to be quantifiable and communicated effectively to the public. The Natural Resource Defense Council developed an algorithm by compiling data from existing projects to show the potential economic benefits of a set of hypothetical green infrastructure retrofits to owners of office buildings, apartment complexes, and retail centers in the Philadelphia area. State and local municipalities may have better success in implementing environmental public policy and/or integrating green infrastructure into their building/zoning codes. To transform the built environment fully from "gray to green", environmental sensibility needs to become ubiquitous in our culture, education, and professions. Experimental design work conducted in the studio is put to the test when it is presented to the community. The student work provides a plethora of design options that range from ardent visions used to inspire long-term desires to pragmatic solutions that can be applied to short-term design challenges.
