Design & Build Case Study:
Raleigh, NC
How the City of Raleigh, North Carolina Strengthened Stormwater Design Standards by Establishing Ongoing Staff Feedback Opportunities
| Region | Southeast | Principle | Establish Design Standards |
| City | Raleigh, NC | Best Practice | Establish ongoing feedback loops |
| Population | 482,000 | ||
| Partners | City of Raleigh | ||
“We would do a design charrette [between the departments] to look at design details and ask — how could we better design this GSI for maintenance moving forward?”
– Neal Wisenbaker, City of Raleigh, excerpt from the Guardians of Greenspaces podcast
Project Description
In 2023, the City of Raleigh Stormwater Division launched an internal process to update and refine its green infrastructure design standards. City staff identified the need to revisit these standards in response to feedback from past projects. Through this effort, staff aimed to improve the long-term function and maintenance planning for green infrastructure projects by better reflecting site constraints and maintenance realities.
To hear perspectives from staff involved in all phases of green infrastructure, the city brought together and invited feedback from project managers, inspectors, operations staff, and maintenance crews. Following this process, the city published the updated design standards, including design details, specifications, and a plant list, for city-led projects in 2024. The standards are available online to guide internal project delivery and offer recommendations for private developers.
City of Raleigh staff surveying a site as part of a design charette
Best Practices in Action
Raleigh’s process shows how design standards can be strengthened when informed by those who build and maintain the infrastructure. The city convened cross-departmental teams to evaluate stormwater infrastructure through site visits, workshops, design charrettes, and facilitated review sessions. Participants included capital improvement project (CIP) managers, road and park maintenance staff, and landscape teams. Through these activities, staff examined built projects, identified recurring maintenance challenges, and proposed design adjustments based on direct experience.
This collaborative process included regular meetings with a cross-departmental group paired with larger focused half-day design charettes. The three charettes each served a different purpose to gather a range of input. The first was focused on walking through the existing key design details and feedback and the second on maintenance needs, with more participation by maintenance and landscaping staff. The final design charette included green infrastructure site visits to identify needed improvements. The input received through the charrettes informed the design details, specifications, and plant list. Raleigh continues to have informal and formal feedback loops to collect input from staff on needed updates. The stronger cross-departmental relationships allow for informal feedback. As part of a formal feedback process for green infrastructure projects, one representative participates in the design process conversations to guide planning for green infrastructure maintenance. By engaging across teams early and often, the city ensured that multiple perspectives shaped the outcome.
Key Learnings
Clear feedback pathways are critical
Multiple input opportunities such as ad hoc working groups, monthly green infrastructure staff meetings, and facilitated charettes provided reliable pathways to collect and implement feedback.
Flexibility is key
Updates to design standards will be needed as more is learned from new green infrastructure projects. Rather than constant changes, Raleigh collects feedback and updates standards at planned intervals.
Multidisciplinary teams are valuable
The most successful projects draw on engineering, landscape, operations, and maintenance knowledge from the outset. Involving staff from multiple disciplines helped surface design issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Internal collaboration builds buy-in
Engaging staff across departments through this process fostered relationships and trust. Staff felt ownership over the standards they helped shape, improving implementation across departments.