Green Infrastructure and Environmental Land Management
We assess how water, topography, vegetation cover and developed areas interact on a property to identify environmental management opportunities suited to actual site conditions.
Based on this assessment, we can propose green infrastructure, stormwater runoff management, infiltration, revegetation, conservation and other measures to better integrate the project with its surroundings.
Before deciding what to do, we need to understand how the property functions
Environmental measures are most effective when they respond to actual site conditions rather than being introduced as isolated features of a project.
Every property conveys, stores and transforms water differently
Slopes, depressions, soils, geological materials, impervious surfaces, vegetation and drainage networks determine how land responds to rainfall and how a project can be integrated into its environment.
Examining these relationships helps identify existing problems as well as opportunities that could inform site planning.
Green infrastructure starts with a sound understanding of the land. We first assess how the property functions and then determine which measures could add value.
Water, land and the environment do not function independently
A seemingly minor change can affect how water flows, concentrates or infiltrates within a property.
Runoff
Roofs, roads, parking areas and other surfaces can increase or concentrate water flowing across the land.
- Drainage paths
- Concentration areas
- Impervious areas
- Discharge points
Infiltration
The ability of the ground to absorb water depends on its characteristics and must be understood before proposing measures intended to promote infiltration.
- Soil conditions
- Geological materials
- Slope
- Hydrogeological setting
Vegetation
Vegetation cover can help protect soil, regulate runoff, integrate environmental features and restore disturbed areas.
- Existing cover
- Degraded areas
- Protection buffers
- On-site connectivity
Developing a property also changes its environmental behavior
Buildings, fills, roads, drainage systems and impervious surfaces can alter formerly natural conditions. Recognizing these changes helps identify measures that reduce impacts and make better use of site characteristics.
What can we help address?
Many environmental needs begin as specific situations on a property. Our work is to understand their causes and assess which type of intervention best addresses the issue.
Concentrated runoff
Areas where water accumulates, flows in concentrated paths or causes problems around roads, buildings and developed areas.
Excessive impervious cover
Properties where roofs, pavements or other surfaces reduce the land’s natural capacity to manage rainfall.
Green spaces without a defined function
Available spaces that could play a more active role in the environmental and spatial management of the project.
Disturbed or degraded areas
Areas where past modifications offer opportunities to improve vegetation cover, surface stability or environmental integration.
Natural features to integrate
Vegetation, watercourses, wetlands, slopes and other features that should be considered when organizing a property.
Properties that need a strategy
Sites where decisions are needed about which areas to conserve, develop, restore or use to better manage environmental conditions.
Green infrastructure and water management
Green infrastructure incorporates spaces and landscape features into an environmental management strategy, particularly when runoff needs to be controlled, conveyed, stored or allowed to infiltrate.
Rain gardens and rainwater areas
Spaces that temporarily receive runoff and use suitable portions of the property to manage water more integrally.
Permeable areas
Areas where maintaining or restoring conditions that allow greater interaction between water and the ground may be beneficial.
Vegetated strips and drainage channels
Features that can follow natural flow paths to better organize surface water movement within a property.
Reducing hard surfaces
Where site uses allow, some areas can be redesigned to reduce impervious cover and restore part of the land’s environmental function.
Using depressions and available spaces
The site’s natural configuration may offer opportunities to temporarily accommodate certain volumes of water.
Combined measures
A property may require several complementary measures rather than relying on a single element.
Not every property is suited to the same solution. Location, infiltration, topography, hydrogeology and environmental conditions must be assessed before deciding where and how to incorporate green infrastructure.
Vegetation and restoration of areas within the property
Vegetation can form part of a land management strategy that protects soil, supports water management, conserves important areas and restores disturbed land.
Existing vegetation cover is also part of the assessment
Before proposing new interventions, it is useful to identify features that already provide environmental functions on the property and determine how they can be integrated into the project.
Existing vegetation, watercourses, natural buffers and relatively undisturbed areas can become structural components of the proposal.
- Conservation of existing vegetation cover
- Revegetation of disturbed areas
- Vegetated strips linked to water management
- Protection of edges and sensitive areas
- Connectivity between green spaces
- Integration of developed spaces with their surroundings
The goal is not to decorate the property. Vegetation is included when it can provide an environmental or spatial function suited to site conditions.
Environmental planning for the property
A proposal can help determine where existing conditions should be conserved, where measures could be incorporated and which areas need particular attention.
Open areas can contribute actively to how a project functions
A vegetated strip, depression, permeable area or conserved zone can serve environmental purposes while remaining part of the property’s available space.
Planning helps identify these opportunities before different areas are occupied or modified without an integrated approach.
Mapping translates the assessment into a spatial proposal
An environmental measure needs a specific place on the property. Mapping allows us to integrate site information and show where problems, opportunities and potential intervention areas are located.
Understand the property
We map topography, drainage, land cover, infrastructure and other features needed to develop a spatial understanding of the site.
Locate strategic areas
We identify areas where conserving, restoring or introducing particular environmental measures may be appropriate.
Organize interventions
Mapping helps relate proposed measures to buildings, roads, drainage systems, green spaces and other project components.
An environmental measure needs a specific location. Mapping problems and opportunities helps turn a broad idea into a proposal grounded in how the property actually functions.
Where can this service be applied?
Green infrastructure and environmental planning can be incorporated into existing properties as well as projects still in the planning stage.
Hotels and tourism developments
Properties where nature, water, green spaces and visitor experiences can be integrated into a shared strategy.
Condominiums and residential developments
Projects where common areas and open spaces can contribute to site environmental management.
Commercial and institutional projects
Properties with parking areas, roofs, green spaces and developed surfaces that need to be assessed together.
Farms and privately owned land
Sites where owners want to better organize the use, conservation and environmental management of different areas.
Parks and municipal projects
Spaces where green infrastructure, water, vegetation and public use can be integrated into planning.
Previously developed properties
Sites with environmental problems or underused spaces that could be gradually redesigned.
A new project is not required. Many green infrastructure opportunities emerge from examining how an existing property currently functions.
What can the work include?
We can provide anything from a focused assessment of a specific condition to a broader land management proposal integrating several environmental aspects of a property.
Understand existing conditions
- Environmental and spatial assessment of the property
- Identification of runoff paths
- Surface and land cover analysis
- Identification of sensitive areas
- Identification of problems and opportunities
- Assessment mapping
Organize potential measures
- Conceptual placement of green infrastructure
- Priority areas for conservation or restoration
- Areas for runoff management
- Vegetated strips or spaces
- Environmental zoning of the property
- Proposal mapping
The solution depends on the project’s scale and complexity. Not every property needs a comprehensive proposal; sometimes a focused assessment can address a specific issue much more directly.
Before proposing a solution
The type of intervention depends on site characteristics and the problem to be addressed.
Is this service landscaping or garden design?
No. The focus is on the property’s environmental and spatial functioning: water, topography, vegetation cover, infrastructure and opportunities for site-specific measures.
Can an already built project be assessed?
Yes. An existing property may offer opportunities to gradually improve water management, surfaces, vegetation or particular open spaces.
Should all rainwater infiltrate into the ground?
Not necessarily. Soil and subsurface characteristics, the hydrogeological setting, slopes and project conditions must be evaluated before encouraging infiltration.
Will a rain garden work on any property?
No. Its suitability depends on where runoff originates, how it can be conveyed, ground conditions and its relationship with existing structures.
Can the proposal make use of existing vegetation?
Yes. Where appropriate, existing vegetation cover can be incorporated into the strategy rather than replaced unnecessarily.
What do I need to get started?
We can begin with the property’s location, available project information and a description of the issue or condition you would like to assess.
Let’s first understand what is happening on your property
If your property has runoff problems, underused areas, degraded zones or you simply want to better integrate water, vegetation and open spaces into your project, we can begin by assessing site conditions.
You do not need to know the solution in advance. We can start with the issue, the property’s location and the available information to determine which type of assessment makes sense.