Miami Beach's Blue-Green Stormwater Infrastructure Concept Plan: Not Just 'Living with Water' but 'Thriving With Water'

The coastal location of the City of Miami Beach is what makes it such a desirable place in which to live, work and play. It is also its coastal location and relatively low elevation that make it susceptible to frequent, intense storm events, rising sea levels, and tidal events ('sunny day' flooding). Additionally, as with all highly urbanized areas, non-point source pollution reduction is both an environmental management priority and critical to maintaining safe and aesthetically pleasing water-oriented lifestyles and tourism.
In 2018, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) issued its Stormwater Management and Climate Adaptation Review report for Miami Beach. ULI praised the City for its proactive efforts and provided a series of recommendations, including further exploration and integration of blue and green stormwater infrastructure (BGSI) into the City's strategies and projects. The City acted upon this recommendation with the development of a city-wide BGSI Concept Plan and the incorporation of BGSI solutions into several City projects planned for implementation. These solutions harness natural processes by using soils, vegetation, and the landscape as infrastructure, and in the process creating opportunities to help the City's residents and visitors to not just 'live with water,' but to 'thrive with water.'
This presentation will explore how Miami Beach is incorporating BGSI solutions that combine the water quality and community enriching benefits of 'green' infrastructure coupled with the flood reduction and climate resiliency benefits of 'blue' infrastructure. Whereas green stormwater infrastructure (e.g., bioretention and permeable pavement) typically uses vegetation, soils, and/or rainwater harvesting to treat and reduce smaller, more frequent stormwater flows, blue stormwater infrastructure (wet ponds and detention) temporarily stores larger volumes of stormwater without significant reliance on vegetation. As a combined strategy, BGSI encompasses both types of infrastructure and often includes such innovative, 'floodable' systems such as 'floodable parks', 'wet plazas', and 'retention boulevards' that can collectively provide a range of both stormwater-related benefits and other community benefits. The stormwater benefits of BGSI can include water quality improvements, groundwater recharge, and even detention and flood mitigation benefits. The community benefits of BGSI can entail urban heat island mitigation, air quality improvement, climate resiliency, habitat creation and improvement, and numerous other social benefits (job creation, improved urban aesthetics, increased property values, improved pedestrian safety, and enhanced recreational spaces). This presentation will provide an overview of the BGSI Concept Plan's recommendations with respect to specific BGSI practices and strategies, planning and design considerations, how public spaces might be transformed. BGSI practices and strategies in the City's BGSI Concept Plan were developed with the intent of supporting and incentivizing a broad range of stakeholders to implement BGSI such that sufficient implementation scale can be achieved and so that the collective results have meaningful impact.
The widespread implementation of BGSI across the City would create the opportunity to integrate innovative urban design concepts with improved stormwater management, in the process yielding multiple community and environmental benefits. Water has historically been central to public space design not only as decorative elements but also in its capacity to provide opportunities for relaxation and respite. The incorporation of BGSI and other water features within urban spaces early in the planning process can offer many co-benefits that optimize livability and resilience in Miami Beach. Reclaiming the historically positive role water has had in Miami Beach can provide a living stage for interpretive South Florida education, while supporting alternative forms of transport, such as walking and biking to diversify Miami Beach's transportation network while reducing carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Public space design using a BGSI approach considers the critical point of view that can only be provided by users of Miami Beach public space, whose experiences and preferences are critical in shaping public space planning and design. BGSI should serve as a symbol of innovation through the creation of functional and memorable public spaces, not only for the people of Miami Beach, but also for the millions of annual visitors.
For a BGSI approach to be successful in Miami Beach and other cities facing similar challenges, it is critical that solutions fit not only their regional context, but also the context of existing site uses. Current site usage and programming can only be understood by engaging with the public early and often through various communication forums, such as public meetings, online surveys, and other ways of gathering input across various demographics and neighborhoods. Although this City's BGSI Concept Plan was developed over a relatively short period of time, effective public outreach was conducted and valuable input was received through presentations at two City of Miami Beach Sustainability and Resiliency Committee meetings, a well-advertised and well-attended public meeting dedicated to BGSI, and the Miami Beach Rising Above website (www.mbrisingabove.com). The input and feedback received from these stakeholders guided the selection of BGSI practices and strategies in the Concept Plan and the urban design features to be included. A frequently asked questions (FAQs) document was also prepared to address common questions and concerns related to BGSI implementation.
The success of BGSI implementation in Miami Beach and elsewhere also rests with increased partnerships that engage government, private business, local community groups, and non-governmental organizations. Truly integrated solutions require input and expertise across a wide set of partners not only within neighborhoods and across the community, but also among various City departments and other agencies. Communication and alignment on strategy across City departments will result in better informed decisions and more holistic solutions through integrated BGSI planning. This alignment will be reinforced through neighborhood-level public outreach as specific local projects are planned, designed, constructed, and maintained. Representative constructed examples of blue-green infrastructure from Miami Beach and beyond will be presented.
This presentation will appeal to a wide audience of planners, engineers, and municipal decision makers that all share a stake in transforming our urban environments into resilient, attractive, and enriching spaces that promote not just 'living with water,' but 'thriving with water.'