The Dream of Designing with Nature: The Woodlands, Texas , USA
Kristine Swann

Innovations

            The Woodlands, as an environmentally planned community, was the first of its kind (Morgan and King, 1987). In fact, The Woodlands Development Corporation (TWDC, a subsidiary of Mitchell Energy and Development) completed the first Environmental Impact Statement in the United States , before it was even legally required (Morgan and King, 1987). In addition, by receiving funding from Title VII under HUD, the community was one of the first government funded New Communities, as well as the only community under Title VII that did not default on its loans (Forsyth, 2005). But these are just the unique characteristics of the bureaucratic side of the development.

            What differentiates The Woodlands from other communities at the time is that it implemented methods of low impact development on a very large scale. The hydrologic system was protected with not only creative but effective techniques. One such technique was the vegetated swale system, which replaced the curb gutter system that typifies suburbia. The vegetated swales allowed for infiltration of storm water, not only purifying the water before it returned to the water table, but also giving it a chance to percolate, which is not a common chance storm water has - given the soil types in the area. In addition, where there were open areas and cleared areas, retention ponds were created down gradient from the vegetated swales, allowing for further infiltration and filtration of storm water runoff.

Vegetated swales in the first village. Photo Credit: Morgan and King, 1987

These linked the vegetated swales to siltation ponds which then store this bio-filtered storm water runoff until the next major storm, creating a wetland environment that would then be linked to the nearby natural drainage systems (i.e. the streams). In creating this system that followed the natural hydrology of the area, it was hoped that runoff levels would be around 10% increased compared to before development - which is a substantial reduction of runoff levels for developed lands. (HUD, 1972). In addition to this major system, The Woodlands also had one of the first experimental porous pavement/pavers plots in the world (HUD, 1972; Morgan and King, 1987). These types of road/sidewalk paving allow for storm water to percolate through the pavement to the underlying soil.

            In addition, the preservation of the woodlands was intrinsically involved in the hydrologic system - less eroded land means less flash flooding, and more forest canopy and ground leaf cover also means more chances for filtration. Preserving the forest also benefited the biodiversity and species richness that existed in the forest. The basic method of forest preservation, of course, is to not develop the forest. One of the major regulations in construction methods that was used by the developers in the beginning was that the construction crews could not clear more than ten feet of forest/plant cover beyond the foundation for each building (Morgan and King, 1987). In addition, the focus in the landscaping of cleared lands was on replanting with native species, and the code of covenants were strict in what the residents of the community were allowed to do with their yards - for example, large penalties were placed on the individual who decided to cut a tree down without specific clearance from the community association (Morgan and King, 1987). The lengths to which The Woodlands went to protect their trees was monumental. The design with nature that McHarg had hoped for surely took place with this system of preservation/development.

            As mentioned in the Introduction, there was also the goal to create an environment that was accessible to the community. Extensive pedestrian/bike paths were constructed throughout the forested and open areas, not only linking the separate villages but also the residential areas of each neighborhood with the stores, businesses, and community centers that one may need nearby (Forsyth, 2005). It was hoped that by having this system, the dependence on automobile transportation would be reduced (HUD, 1972). This type of bike system, while possibly present in areas of Europe at the time, were definitely a new concept in Texas .

      

 

 

 

 

 

Evaluation

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Green Urbanism and Ecological Infrastructure || Instructor, Jack Ahern

Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

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