Sustainable Design and Green Infrastructure Flashcards
7 cards from real BLArch Bachelor of Landscape Architecture practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Sustainable Design and Green Infrastructure flashcards as text
A rain garden is best described as:
Answer: A shallow, vegetated depression that collects and infiltrates stormwater runoff
Rain gardens are shallow, planted depressions designed to collect stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces and allow it to slowly infiltrate into the ground over 24–48 hours.
What is the primary benefit of permeable pavement in sustainable landscape design?
Answer: Allowing stormwater to infiltrate through the surface into the ground below
Permeable pavement allows stormwater to pass through the surface into underlying aggregate layers and then into the soil, reducing runoff volume and recharging groundwater.
Urban tree canopy contributes to sustainable design primarily by:
Answer: Providing shade, reducing heat island effect, intercepting rainfall, and improving air quality
Urban tree canopy reduces heat island effects through shading and evapotranspiration, intercepts rainfall to reduce runoff, sequesters carbon, and improves air quality simultaneously.
Which stormwater management approach involves capturing and storing rainwater from rooftops for later non-potable reuse?
Answer: Rainwater harvesting with cisterns
Rainwater harvesting captures and stores precipitation from rooftops in cisterns or tanks for later use in landscape irrigation or other non-potable applications, reducing demand on municipal water supplies.
In sustainable landscape design, 'ecological connectivity' refers to:
Answer: Creating linked habitat corridors that allow wildlife movement through fragmented landscapes
Ecological connectivity involves designing linked habitat corridors and green spaces that allow wildlife to move through otherwise fragmented urban or suburban landscapes.
What is the purpose of a bioretention cell in green infrastructure?
Answer: To collect and treat stormwater runoff through engineered soil media, plants, and microorganisms
Bioretention cells are engineered depressions filled with specialized soil media and plants that collect, filter, and slowly release stormwater while removing pollutants through biological and physical processes.
Which of the following landscape elements most directly reduces stormwater runoff volume from a building?
Answer: A green roof with growing media and vegetation
Green roofs absorb and retain rainfall in their growing media and through plant evapotranspiration, significantly reducing the volume of stormwater runoff from building rooftops.