NEWS

eDD’s founder and Drexel University professor Franco Montalto was recently published in the journal “Nature.” In his article, he discusses how he and his students work to address unmet real-world community needs. Here’s an exerpt:

Having students tackle real-world problems has transformed my experience as a professor of civil and environmental engineering. My students have learnt theory while helping governmental and non-governmental partners in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to improve their green infrastructure, parks and tree cover; design strategies and obtain funding for flood mitigation; and understand how to manage urban heat — all while publishing in academic journals and working in and with communities.

Read the full article in “Nature” here>

We were excited to see the attention Gansevoort Peninsula received in the New York Times recently: “How Hudson River Park Helped Revitalize Manhattan’s West Side.” Under the leadership of Field Operations, eDD designed natural areas in the new park. You can see the largest restored salt marsh on Manhattan’s westside in the foreground of the picture of Little Island!

With colleagues, eDD President Dr. Franco Montalto, P.E., recently published a book that can help stormwater engineers to evaluate the impact of various Low Impact Development (LID) technologies, including Green Infrastructure. The book, entitled Computational Methods in Low Impact Development Stormwater Control Measures, can be previewed and purchased here. LID has become the preferred strategy for controlling stormwater. The book describes all the different LID controls in common use today, and the mathematical equations that are used to describe their hydrologic and hydraulic functionality. The second half of the book describes how LID controls are simulated in different computer modeling software packages. The book ends with strategies for advancing the state of the art.

Preview and purchase the book here>

Read the book’s press release here>

eDesign Dynamics is honored to be a part of the team, lead by Olin, that has just been awarded the 2023 ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, part of the American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Professional Awards in conjunction with the International Federation of Landscape Architects. 

The Caño Martín Peña Comprehensive Infrastructure Master Plan was developed to serve this Puerto Rican district’s needs by improving their collective health and quality of life, incorporating nature-based strategies and climate change risk analysis to develop holistic solutions while safeguarding the communities’ deep social bonds as the fundamental link. The plan is grounded in a social and environmental justice framework, surveys and consultation with residents and community leaders, as well as coordination with Commonwealth and Federal agencies.

eDD led the Hydrology and Hydraulics (H-H) Modeling and Green Infrastructure portions of the project, with Eric Rothstein, PE (eDD Managing Partner), Franco Montalto (eDD Founder), Kyle Taylor (eDD Project Engineer) and Sanaz Borhani (eDD Modeler).

The Jury, made up of professionals from the United States and abroad, stated:

[It’s a] resiliency-oriented development. This plan integrates climate mitigation and flood protection with new belts of greenspace, community connectors, housing, and power to form a possibility of multivalence. It is a plan in which specific landscape design strategies can positively impact the environment and, therefore, quality of life while promoting resilience. The analysis is thorough and addresses the intent of ecological improvements. Cultural understanding is also prevalent in the narrative and exhibits.”

Read more about the project here>

Read about the other award categories and recipients here>

Dr. Franco Montalto, eDD’s Founder and the Director of Drexel University’s Sustainable Water Resource Engineering, was announced the winner of the INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION AWARD (in the Research Category) by the Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin (WRA). He’s being honored for his “dedicated leadership to advance cutting edge science and innovative technologies to protect communities from climate related flood risk and to enable historically disadvantaged communities to proactively partner with Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority to improve their neighborhoods.” The 2023 WRA Awards recognize leadership, innovation and excellence in the science and management of water resources within the Delaware Basin. The awards will be presented at WRA’s 40th Annual Awards Gala on September 21st at the beautiful Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia (pictured).

Read about all the award recipients here>

eDD President, Franco Montalto, was interviewed by Philadelphia’s NBC10 about ways to adapt to extreme weather. He highlights the importance of working with community members in developing local solutions that address both climate and other needs. 

Watch the video here>

The project started in the early phases of the pandemic when places like cooling centers, recreational centers, libraries, and senior centers where people went for relief from high temperatures were closed; Montalto and his Drexel University team came up with a strategy that allowed people to cool in place by developing shade structures with an umbrella that could be deployed in front of peoples’ city homes. With community input, the structures evolved into a bench with a planter so that even high winds wouldn’t dislodge the umbrellas. The shade stations not only provide relief from the heat, but they also serve as a community amenity: they’re aesthetically pleasing, provide opportunities for social engagement, and have created jobs as the project has expanded into five different neighborhoods!

Watch the full news segment here>

From the article:

Going forward, better land use planning and engineering could help communities mitigate the dangerous flooding that can come with heavy rain. This could look like soft surfaces that water can sink into, depressed basketball courts that can hold flood waters, or streets that are designed to convey water to a safe place, said Franco Montalto, a professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Drexel University and president of eDesign Dynamics LLC. 

“You start to think strategically about how to use the landscape to direct the water into places where it can flood,” Montalto said. “You’re not trying to necessarily prevent the flood. You’re trying to make the flood occur safely.”

Humans can also limit future increases in heavy rain by rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years.

Read the full article here>