An Evaluation of Local Comprehensive Plans Regarding Green Infrastructure in 52 Cities across the U.S. Gulf Coast Region

Abstract

The utilization of green infrastructure (GI) showed promising results as a flood mitigation strategy and a viable solution for building community resilience and achieving sustainability, especially in light of the challenges posed by climate change and increasing climate-related hazards. Meanwhile, it remains uncertain how local governments incorporated the key principles of GI into their planning and regulatory frameworks, particularly their comprehensive plans. This study aimed to fill in the gaps by evaluating U.S. Gulf Coast cities’ comprehensive plans regarding GI. Using the content analysis method, a sample of fifty-two city comprehensive plans was evaluated to determine how well local plans support GI and to examine the factors which influence the quality of local plans. Our results indicate that the sampled cities in the Gulf Coast region are likely to have low willingness to plan and implement GI. Moreover, results from statistical analysis implied that the sampled Gulf Coast cities are more likely to produce higher-quality plans in terms of GI when there are more opportunities for public participation and involvement in the planning process. Findings from our study can provide valuable information and direction for local authorities and planners to improve the performance of their comprehensive plans and support GI implementation in the future.