Site Development Problems

1. Climate change

Climate change is the most significant

challenge to achieving sustainable
development, resulting to more floods,
windstorms, heat waves and it threatens to
drag millions of people into grinding
poverty.

Possible solutions:

Green Roofs

Green Roofs (roofs with a vegetated surface and

substrate) provide ecosystem services in urban areas,
including improved storm-water management, better
regulation of building temperatures, reduced urban
heat-island effects, and increased urban wildlife
habitat.

Just imagine if this technology was applied to every building within your city, it comes with
unlimited benefits as following:

 Storm Water Management and Water Retention since Green roofs can help with controlling
the stormwater runoff which is a major problem in many cities. They have the ability to retain
water at a rate of 50-90% depending on the design of the roofs.

 Improvement of Micro-climate as rainwater evaporates, it humidifies the air above it, making
the air cooler. This reduces the ambient temperature of the air above rooftops, improving the
micro-climate. Since the rooftop becomes cooler, the efficiency of the building’s AC units is
improved.

 Dust and Toxic Particles Binder where air pollution is a common phenomenon in all major
cities. Green roofs can play a vital role in filtering the air pollutants, improving the quality of air.
When the air flows, the foliar surface of green roof reduces the speed of air flowing above it.
This filters 10-20% of dust particles from the air, thus, helping to purify the air.
 Protection from Noise Pollution as green roofs can be of great advantage when it comes to
noise pollution. Urban areas are mostly subjected to sources of loud sounds and noises
particularly because of buildings being located under flight paths, adjacent to nightclubs,
markets, malls, and fairs and so on.

Low Impact Development (LID)

A systems and practices that use or mimic natural processes that result in the infiltration,
evapotranspiration or use of stormwater in order to protect water quality and associated aquatic
habitat. Aims to preserve, restore and create green space using soils, vegetation, and rainwater
harvest techniques. LID is an approach
to land development (or re-development)
that works with nature to manage
stormwater as close to its source as
possible. LID employs principles such as
preserving and recreating natural
landscape features, minimizing effective
imperviousness to create functional and
appealing site drainage that treat
stormwater as a resource rather than a
waste product. There are many practices
 that have been used to adhere to these principles such as bioretention facilities, rain gardens,
vegetated rooftops, rain barrels and permeable pavements. By implementing LID principles and
practices, water can be managed in a way that reduces the impact of built areas and promotes
the natural movement of water within an ecosystem or watershed. Applied on a broad scale, LID
can maintain or restore a watershed's hydrologic and ecological functions.

2. Increase in population

As the population increases, the

price for a place becomes more
expensive resulting to lack of
affordable housing can make
low-cost labor more scarce, and
increase demands on
transportation systems (as
workers travel longer distances
between jobs and affordable housing).

Possible solution:

Sustainable Transportation

Transport has a major impact on the spatial and economic development of cities and regions. The
attractiveness of particular locations depends in part on the relative accessibility, and this in turn
depends on the quality and quantity of the transport infrastructure.

The concept of sustainable transportation promotes a balance between transportation’s economic

and social benefits and the need to protect the environment.

In further articulating this idea, the Center for Sustainable Transportation has defined a
sustainable transportation system as one that:

 Allows individuals and societies to meet their access needs safely and in a manner consistent
with human and ecosystem health, and with equity within and between generations.
 Is affordable operates efficiently, offers a choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant
economy.

 Limits emissions and waste within the planet’s ability to absorb them minimizes consumption
of non-renewable resources, limits consumption of renewable resources to the sustainable
yield level reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of land and the
production of noise.

3. Topography

The topographic map provides a considerable amount of information including drainage patterns
and problems, potential on-site and off-site views, erosion and sedimentation potential, as well as
potential for development. There are standards that establish categories of slopes related to
suitability for different uses and activities. These standards are somewhat regional. A typical
slope breakdown might include:
0-2% - Most developable
2-8% - Easily accommodates most
categories of development
8-16% - Some development restrictions;
upper limits for roads and walks
16-24% - Significant restrictions to most
development
24%+ - Generally restricted for
development

Proposed Solution

Treatment of these factors requires base information in the form of contours and elevations to a
degree of accuracy appropriate to the proposed development. For general planning, topographic
information. However, more detailed site design requires more specific elevations from aerial or
field surveys. Visually, as well as functionally, the form of the landscape, its slopes and patterns
are one of the most important categories to consider, no matter what the proposed land use.

Cut and fill

the process of constructing

a railway, road or canal whereby
the amount of material
from cuts roughly matches the
amount of fill needed to make
nearby embankments, so
minimizing the amount of
construction labor.

4. Drainage System Design

Poorly maintained drainage system and improper waste management system affect our
environment in the following ways:

 Flooding: The immediate effects of flooding include loss of human life, damage to
property, destruction of crops and other plants, loss of livestock
  Erosion: The absence of good drainage systems can cause erosion problems. This has
been experienced in many areas of Nigeria, where roads have been washed away and
gullies created as a result of flooding.

 Diseases: Deterioration of health is another effect of flooding, due to the increase in

waterborne diseases and unsanitary conditions. Stagnation of water occurs when water
passages are blocked. This makes the people around such environments susceptible to
infections from mosquitoes and other insects. We are exposed to numerous air and
water borne diseases if we have our environments polluted with stagnant water.

Possible Solution:

Sustainable Drainage Systems are intended to regulate surface water runoff close to where it falls
and simulate natural drainage as closely as possible. They provide opportunities to reduce the
causes and impacts of flooding, remove pollutants from urban runoff at source, and combine
water management with recreation and wildlife. They also help to enhance water quality while
protecting natural flow regimes in watercourses.

Permeable Pavement

Permeable pavements are alternative paving

surfaces that allow stormwater runoff to filter
through voids in the pavement surface into an
underlying stone reservoir, where it is temporarily
stored and/or infiltrated. A variety of permeable
pavement surfaces are available,
including pervious concrete, porous
asphalt and permeable interlocking concrete
pavers. While the specific design may vary, all permeable pavements have a similar structure,
consisting of a surface pavement layer, an underlying stone aggregate reservoir layer and a filter
layer or fabric installed on the bottom

5. Existing Vegetation

Trees and vegetation play an important part in managing stormwater, stabilizing slopes, providing
habitat, reducing air pollution, and contributing to neighborhood character. For these reasons, we
regulate trees and vegetation removal on private property in certain situations on construction
sites, areas to be maintained in their preconstruction condition should remain undisturbed during
construction; existing vegetation to be incorporated into the final site should be maintained. Only
a limited number and size of trees are allowed to cut down

Possible solution:

 Bare-Root trees are typically

sold with the roots bare,
save for moisture-retaining
medium encased in paper or
plastic. If you purchase a
bare-root tree, moisten the
roots prior to planting, and
spread them out evenly
across the hole. Holes for
bare-root trees need to be
large enough so that the
roots can be spread out
evenly.
 Container-Grown trees
have the advantage of a root
system that is relatively
undisturbed. Take care to
avoid “pot-bound” container
trees, which can be identified
by large roots which
completely circle the inside
of the pot. Pot-bound
container trees are difficult to transplant successfully, and the roots have difficulty
expanding beyond their established perimeter.
 Balled and Burlapped (B&B) trees are moved with a ball of soil protecting their root
system. Soil balls are heavy, so professional arborists who have proper equipment
should be hired to plant large trees. Smaller B&B trees can be managed by the
homeowner.
 Boxed trees are moved in boxes of soil. These are typically used by professionals in
areas with sandy soils. They are commonly used to plant palms, as well. Boxed plants
can be heavy and are limited to professional use.