February 19, 2025

Nature-Based Solutions: Transforming Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future

Over the past 10 to 20 years, there has been increasing emphasis on the long-term value of incorporating more natural, “green” components into infrastructure projects of all types. Growing challenges associated with managing increasingly frequent intense rain events, improving water quality, and addressing water supply challenges, among other things, continue to heighten the awareness of the potential for multiplying the value of public projects by the inclusion of “green” components. Terms like “green infrastructure,” “low impact development,” “best management practices,” and others have become very common. A more recent, over-arching term that encompasses many of the philosophies and strategies evolving in this realm is; “Nature-based Solutions (NBS)”.

Despite the increasing emphasis and, even, the recognized value of promoting the various benefits of NBS in infrastructure projects, for many local governments developing standards, policies, and practices has often seemed impractical and, therefore, efforts to move that direction fail to gain traction. Freese and Nichols has been gaining more and more project-based experience on the need for, value of, and steps to successfully incorporating NBS features into public projects. We have made numerous presentations on this topic at regional conferences over the past 2-3 years, sharing project examples, steps, and strategies for assessing and communicating the viability and potential value of making NBS a standard part of infrastructure project planning and scoping.

TO LEARN MORE:

• Contact Greg Simmons, gregory.simmons@freese.com