Division of Green Infrastructure

The City and County of Denver is making green infrastructure a fundamental part of the City’s long-term stormwater management strategy by building large-scale and site-scale green infrastructure.

Large Scale green infrastructure is a network of parks, open spaces, floodplains and constructed facilities that mimic natural systems by using vegetation, soils, and roots to filter stormwater runoff.
Site-scale green infrastructure is often a smaller, built control measure that slows and treats stormwater runoff before it reaches creeks and rivers. Site-scale control measures can be implemented during individual development projects or in the public right-of-way.

Benefits of the green infrastructure at both scales include improved water quality as well as better air quality, reduced flooding risks, urban heat island effect mitigation, reduced energy demands, climate change resiliency, and enhanced community livability. Denver’s Division of Green Infrastructure is becoming a leader in using green infrastructure to simultaneously mitigate urban heat island and manage stormwater runoff from city streets.