Editing Road verge (section)

==Sustainable urban and landscape design==
[[File:Treelawn2.JPG|thumb|300px|Planted [[rain garden]] in the "tree lawn" zone, Raleigh, North Carolina.]]
In urban and suburban areas, [[urban runoff]] from private and civic properties can be guided by [[grading (engineering)|grading]] and [[bioswale]]s for [[rainwater harvesting]] collection and [[bioretention]] within the "tree-lawn" – parkway zone in [[rain garden]]s. This is done for reducing runoff of rain and domestic water: for their carrying waterborne pollution off-site into [[storm drain]]s and sewer systems; and for the [[groundwater recharge]] of [[aquifer]]s.<ref name="rainwatercollecting"/>

In some cities, such as [[Santa Monica, California]], city code mandates specify: <blockquote>Parkways, the area between the outside edge of the sidewalk and the inside edge of the curb which are a component of the Public Right of Way (PROW) – that the landscaping should require little or no irrigation and the area produce no runoff.<ref name="smgov"/></blockquote>

For Santa Monica, another reason for this use of "tree-lawns" is to reduce current beach and [[Santa Monica Bay]] [[marine pollution|ocean pollution]] that is measurably higher at city outfalls. New construction and remodeling projects needing [[building permit]]s require that [[landscape design]] submittals include [[garden design]] plans showing the means of compliance.<ref name="smgov" />

In some cities and counties, such as [[Portland, Oregon]], street and highway departments are regrading and planting [[rain garden]]s in road verges to reduce boulevard and highway runoff. This practice can be useful in areas with either independent [[Storm drain|Storm sewers]] or [[combined sewers|combined storm and sanitary sewers]], reducing the frequency of pollution, treatment costs, and released overflows of untreated sewage into rivers and oceans during rainstorms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portlandonline.com/BES/index.cfm?c=34598|title=Sustainable Stormwater Management|access-date=2010-04-28}}</ref>