Sidewalks, also known as public walkways, can be understood as multifunctional open spaces where a range of activities occur, from pedestrian flow to social interaction.
In this context, public walkways have significant potential to house green infrastructure solutions—such as rain gardens, bioswales, and stormwater planters—capable of providing a range of environmental services for cities. These include mitigating urban pollution (water, air, and soil), providing habitats for urban fauna, contributing to the control of stormwater runoff volume and velocity, and offering improved local microclimatic quality and thermal comfort for adjacent buildings through shading and evapotranspiration, in addition to serving as an aesthetic element.
Emerging ecological sidewalk design techniques that add value and appeal to properties are currently well-known, utilized, and proven.
Course Content
This course presents design techniques and infrastructure solutions for green sidewalks, addressing emerging accessibility issues, namely:
Water
– Surface runoff management for urban water control;
– Subterranean water retention systems;
– Green infrastructure solutions: permeable paving, channels, rain gardens, bioswales, stormwater planters, and drainage trenches.
