U2.05 Cherry 2016 ReNUWIt Annual Meeting Poster

Many water resource issues associated with urban development result from the increase of impervious cover. As impervious cover increases, rainwater infiltration decreases and leads to greater stormwater runoff. Pollutants that accumulate on the impervious surfaces are deposited by stormwater runoff into nearby streams potentially causing impairments. Most of the research on this topic investigates the increase of impervious cover through the transformation of undeveloped to developed regions, or the expansion of dense urban development into outlying suburban areas. A topic that is not as widely understood is the impact of infill redevelopment on stormwater runoff.
Infill redevelopment is rapidly occurring in many Denver neighborhoods, where previously developed low density single-family properties are being redeveloped with larger, high density multi-family units on similar sized lots. As this conversion occurs, the amount of impervious cover within a lot can double. This study focuses on predicting the spatial distribution of infill re-development, with a corresponding increase in impervious area, on a neighborhood scale over the next 5, 10, and 15 years using existing urban planning models as well as other methods devised to specifically account for in-fill.