Green infrastructure in New Hope Santa Clara Church, Tucson, AZ

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Older parts of US cities did not respect the natural drainage systems because there were no regulations preventing development in these areas. Therefore, these areas are likely to experience flooding. Green infrastructure shows promise in mitigating flooding as they can effectively manage rain events that are less than 1”, which represents about 90% of the rain events in Tucson. Disadvantaged areas of Tucson show less vegetation, more heat, and flooding, so this area is a priority for greening. 

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We engaged the community of the New Hope Santa Clara Church in Tucson to explore the implementation of GI on the church grounds. The church is located along the Airport Wash, a drainage system that consistently floods. The UArizona team conducted the project evaluation.

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The project was funded by the Sonoran Institute with funding from the Royal Bank of Canada

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