With a catchment of 1.5 sq. mi and the goal of managing the 100-year storm, the Clear Creek park must be of considerable size. Did the park design include areas that are both designated for active recreation as well as being ‘floodable’ during large storm events? We are currently looking at a small park design that will include a stormwater wetland/basin in San Francisco (where space is tight) and are looking at the possibility of ‘floodable’ urban agriculture areas.

As an outcome the Historic Fourth Ward Park has provided new park space within an underparked city, created the storage capacity for 100yr flood events, and has become a catalyst for redevelopment within a transitioning neighborhood. The planning went beyond the park and includes a future vision to reinstate Clear Creek as redevelopment becomes feasible further downstream. With the consolidation of open space requirements and density bonuses for developers, and the amplification of city services among several departments as the tax base continues to shrink – the benefits of daylighting the Clear Creek basin have proven to be an alternative to traditional engineered responses.

But if we can highlight how daylighting can bring these multiple benefits, it can bring in multiple funding sources from multiple stakeholders. Part of the challenge is therefore bringing confidence that daylighting genuinely brings those claimed ecological, social and economic benefits – often it can, but subject to careful design. Rarely are daylighting projects fully evaluated – and this monitoring of objectives and outcomes is essential to develop the evidence base and confidence in it. You may be interested in the research project http://www.daylighting.org.uk which aims to collate as many case studies of daylighting in order to provide the best assessment of evidence yet.