We research the relationship of water quality and urbanization to impact future planning.
Students led by Brad Collett wrote and published聽, a regional toolkit for water quality.
HydroLIT聽(short for hydrologic literacy) highlights the relationship between the quality of regional water resources鈥攕treams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and groundwater鈥攁nd urban, suburban and rural systems and proposes innovative water quality improvement strategies to inform future planning in the region. The book is a result of an 18-month teaching and research project that began in 2015 with Collett鈥檚 fall studio, which was part of the university鈥檚 Smart Communities Initiative in collaboration with its 2015-2016 community partner, the Southeast Tennessee Development District. SETD sought a regional water quality improvement plan, and throughout the semester, students developed a series of strategies that are scalable and adaptable to the range of landscapes typical throughout the region.
The studio proposals and their supporting research are now published as聽HydroLIT聽through the efforts of students Sarah Newton, Lindsey Bradley, Erica Phannamvong and Kyra Wu.
快活视频ing the emergent challenges that face the Tennessee River and the communities it supports requires best practices, novel ideas and multi-scalar thinking from a range of allied disciplines, including planning and design.
Brad Collett, Asst. Professor of Landscape Architecture
HydroLIT聽was launched in spring 2017 at a collaborative visioning event in Chattanooga attended by regional foundation leaders, mayors, commissioners and others. It was aimed at empowering the region to protect natural resources and hosted by聽,听听补苍诲听.
The book was designed as a resource for a range of regional stakeholders, including municipalities, agencies, researchers, planners, designers, residents, landowners and developers. By working collaboratively to implement聽贬测诲谤辞尝滨罢鈥檚聽proposed strategies, Southeast Tennessee can accommodate projected economic and population growth while stewarding the region鈥檚 natural treasures and maintaining the high quality of life that makes the region a desirable place to live, work and play.
In addition to supporting conversation and decisions about a sustainable future for the Southeast Tennessee鈥檚 water resources, including the Tennessee River,听HydroLIT聽also formed the basis of the college鈥檚 Tennessee River Studio. The studio is a unique teaching, research and outreach initiative that began in 2016 with a mission to contemplate speculative, visionary proposals that steward the Tennessee Valley鈥檚 resources while maintaining its legacy of leadership and innovation. It is part of the聽Governor鈥檚 Chair for Energy + Urbanism, a unique, five-year partnership of the College of Architecture and Design, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to research innovations and technologies toward a healthy urban future.
