Abstract
Blue-green infrastructures (BGI) integrate solutions implemented to enhance water management and landscape values for more climateresilient and livable cities. BGI have created an opportunity to renew the natural structure of water balance in cities through the increase in rainwater retention and enlargement of permeable areas. The review of the literature on BGI development and solutions showed that the most popular BGI elements in terms of urban water quantity and quality were rain gardens, green roofs, vertical greening systems, and permeable pavements. Their structure and effectiveness were presented and reviewed. Despite the consensus between researchers that BGI benefit urban hydrology, differences in runoff decreased (2%-100%) lowering the peak flows (7%-70%) and infiltration (to 60%) or evapotranspiration (19%-84%) were reported. Due to an individual technical structure, each BGI element plays a specific role and there is no universal BGI solution against water-related problems. We inferred that the most effective ones were individually adapted solutions, which prevent from a stressor. The greater variety of solutions in a given area, the more benefits for the urban environment. Our analyses showed that a holistic and co-creative approach to create blue-green networks should be considered in modern water management plans.
Highlights
The expansion of urban areas has resulted in an increased number of impervious surfaces, such as roads, parking lots, rooftops, and a decrease in the amounts of forested lands, wetlands, and other forms of open space that absorb and clean storm water naturally
This paper aims to present a review of recent literature on the concepts and solutions about four types of Blue-green infrastructures (BGI) supporting sustainable water management in urban areas
The resources of the Web of Science (June 8, 2021) showed that the concepts of green infrastructure (GI), BI, and BGI have been gradually gaining popularity in the literature since ca. 2000, which correlates with a US report (1999) indicating that BGI is one of the key strategies for sustainable development
Summary
The expansion of urban areas has resulted in an increased number of impervious surfaces, such as roads, parking lots, rooftops, and a decrease in the amounts of forested lands, wetlands, and other forms of open space that absorb and clean storm water naturally. In cities where grey infrastructures are the main component of space, the possibility of direct water infiltration is low. It has been reported (Zevenbergen et al 2011) that in cities with 75-100% of impermeable cover, only about 10% of the rainfall could infiltrate the ground, mostly as shallow infiltration. The remaining amount of water evaporates (30%) This disruption of the hydrological cycle in urbanised areas accelerates the rainwater runoff to watercourses (Wałęga et al 2013)
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