Celebrate Stormwater

As a quick Tuesday post, I wanted to give another look at Celebration, Florida and how the neighborhood design approach used there creates a high return-on-investment by applying a different development model. That model emphasizes people and the enhancement of the public realm over high-speed auto-mobility and parking. You can read more background information on our trip to Celebration in our December 14 posting, Celebration in Photos.

Think of the standard, engineered stormwater retention pond and then contrast that image with the one below. While the standard approach is typically geometrically unnatural, harsh and sterile, this approach injects a wild, natural element into the public space. It serves as a transition from the urban area (left) to the park (right) as well as a stormwater holding area. Open ditches with cascading aeration (mini-waterfalls) upstream from this location helps to keep the pond from getting nasty without resorting to the standard approach - "fountain" aerators, which not only look silly but would not fit with this setting.

Stormwater retention pond in Celebration, Florida.

You can view all of our Celebration photos, along with frame-by-frame commentary, on the Community Growth Institute Facebook page.