Sci-Tek provided engineering and project planning services for the Uptown EcoInnovation District (EID) Plan as a subconsultant to Interface Studio, LLC. This project is a planning project for the City of Pittsburgh, Department of Planning to better connect the Downtown and Oakland communities by assessing the Uptown neighborhood’s potential for economic and employment growth in the context of public health and sustainable development. For this reason, the strategy is tailored to the City’s local economic assets, the needs of local stakeholders, and the existing and potential infrastructure that can support sustainable growth. The EID is positioning itself to be a leading model of civic engagement, mobility improvement, water management, and energy innovation and was named one of the world's top 100 projects worldwide addressing climate change on a local level in a publication by Sustania, a sustainable development firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Sci-Tek played a large role with development of stormwater management strategies in the neighborhood and the surrounding region. The EID Plan encourages investment in stormwater infrastructure in the Uptown neighborhood to help reduce the frequency and volume of combined sewer overflows (CSO) that contribute to regional water quality issues and encourages Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) on new private development, public greenspace, and public right-of way improvement projects.
Sci-Tek’ services included stakeholder engagement, developing working visions and principles, establishing baselines and identifying priority projects for stormwater management which includes local and regional impact locations, setting neighborhood targets for management of stormwater, working with stakeholders to develop a roadmap for the future of the district and create an Implementation Plan to guide day-to-day district management, and perform preliminary site civil engineering services for representative public open space and green infrastructure sites identified in the plan.
Community needs and open space goals were aligned with regional stormwater management goals. Through proper planning and design, new or re-envisioned parks and open space areas will serve to manage stormwater. This was the major driver in identifying locations for proposed stormwater management – design space for people while improving issues related to the management of stormwater.
With this approach, projects like the Soho Green Infrastructure Project were envisioned which is a very unique opportunity to not only address community open space needs but reestablish natural drainage paths of the historic Soho Run and begin to reverse the urban water cycle that was created by development over the last 150 years.
KEY FEATURES
- Create and expand open space amenities for residents
- Create new green connections
- Use landscape to enhance local quality of life
- Update underground infrastructure.
