Depaving, also known as desealing, is the act of removing impermeable surfaces such as parking lots and replacing with a permeable surface, especially green space.[1][2] Depaving can help manage stormwater runoff, ensuring that runoff is less polluted.[3]

Depaving in Pierce County, Washington

The Depave Portland group in Portland, United States says that it has depaved more than 70 parking lots and removed 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of paving since it was founded in 2008.[4] Some cities, including Portland, charge impervious pavement fees to cover the cost of dealing with runoff, which incentivizes depaving.[2] Eindhoven, Netherlands depaved parts of its area.[5] The city of Leuven, Belgium is planning depaving as part of its Leuven2050 plan to become carbon-neutral and combat the urban heat island effect.[6][7] Other motivations for depaving include providing habitat for wildlife,[8] combating climate change or increasing quality of life by replacing underutilized paved areas with green space.[1] A 2020 study found that depaving had high effectiveness for increasing groundwater replenishment.[5]

According to a 2016 study by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, depaving is common on rural roads as a cost-saving measure due to the high cost of maintaining paved surfaces.[9]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Garda, Emanuele (2019). "Let's get dirty! Le azioni di depaving dei suoli urbani per la multifunzionalità degli spazi sottoutilizzati". Altre Modernità (in Italian). 2019: NUMERO SPECIALE: Scrivere la terra: 164–178. doi:10.13130/2035-7680/12150. ISSN 2035-7680. S2CID 212871716.
  2. ^ a b Douglas, Ian; Anderson, P. M. L.; Goode, David; Houck, Michael C.; Maddox, David; Nagendra, Harini; Tan, Puay Yok (2020). "Depaving". The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-01526-7.
  3. ^ "Over-paved? Group reduces impervious surfaces in Portland". Nonpoint Source News-notes. Terrene Institute. 2004.
  4. ^ "Depaving Paradise: Grassroots Portland Group Reclaims Parking Lots by Hand". Streetsblog USA. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b Augusto, Bruno; Roebeling, Peter; Rafael, Sandra; Ferreira, Joana; Ascenso, Ana; Bodilis, Carole (2020). "Short and medium- to long-term impacts of nature-based solutions on urban heat". Sustainable Cities and Society. 57: 102122. doi:10.1016/j.scs.2020.102122. hdl:10773/28254. S2CID 214214713.
  6. ^ "Leuven 2030 - Roadmap 2025 · 2035 · 2050". roadmap.leuven2030.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  7. ^ Daunton, Nichola (16 June 2022). "More people cycle than drive in this 'forward-thinking' European city". euronews. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  8. ^ Brears, Robert C. (2018). Blue and Green Cities: The Role of Blue-Green Infrastructure in Managing Urban Water Resources. Springer. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-137-59258-3.
  9. ^ Truscello, Michael (1 September 2020). Infrastructural Brutalism: Art and the Necropolitics of Infrastructure. MIT Press. p. 255. ISBN 978-0-262-53904-3.