Performance and implementation of low impact development – A review

Abstract

Climate change, urbanization, and ecological concerns are all driving the need for new stormwater management strategies. The effects of urbanization are exaggerated by climate change and thus the development of innovative stormwater management techniques are necessary to mitigate these impacts. One emerging stormwater management philosophy is low impact development (LID). LID utilizes distributed stormwater controls (often green infrastructure) as well as green spaces and natural hydrologic features in order to bring the hydrology of urban catchments closer to pre-development conditions. The review provides a summary of the knowledge of LID as a stormwater management technique and climate change mitigation measure as well as the current state of research and implementation of this topic. In order to provide a better understanding of the extensive scope that should be considered for design of low impact developments, methods of optimization, modelling, monitoring and the performance of LID alternatives is covered. LID has been widely adopted and proven successful in many cases; however, there remains uncertainty of its benefits. This review brings together knowledge from many sources in order to provide an overview of LID and examine its performance and implementation.