CO-SI or "Community Oriented Stormwater Infrastructure," is an  interdisciplinary collaborative research project with Rice University's School of Architecture, SSPEED Center, and Department of Sociology that seeks to understand the ways in which stormwater infrastructure has previously contributed to social inequity in Houston. The project, which is funded by the Rice University's Sustainable Futures Grant will develop alternative approaches to flood risk reduction through hydrological modeling, social geography, urban design, and landscape planning. 

Unique rainfall, ground, and soil conditions in the Houston region require specialized stormwater management. Large-scale engineering solutions are disadvantageous for several reasons: first, they are costly and time intensive; second, they tend to be disconnected from the fabric of the city; third, and importantly, because engineered solutions focus solely on flood reduction, they exclude other important factors, including community benefits, environmental or ecological resilience, and equity. In contrast to single-purpose, large-scale engineering solutions, Community-Oriented Stormwater Infrastructure is localized and seeks multiple benefits. For example, stormwater retention spaces can function simultaneously as resilience hubs, public spaces, or restoration areas, thereby contributing to community wellbeing.

Through mapping, analysis, and design scenario development, the team will identify and model equitable, neighborhood-based flood hazard mitigation and adaptation approaches for flood-prone communities in Houston. The project is supported by Rice University’s Sustainable Futures Fund and includes collaborators Prof. Philip Bedient, the Herman Brown Professor of Engineering, Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Director of the SSPEED Center, and Prof. Elizabeth Roberto, Assistant Professor of Sociology.

Houston, TX

CO-SI Research Initiative

Dept. is a landscape architecture and urban design studio that provides creative, useful, and adaptive design responses for the public and the environment.