Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning in Urban Landscapes: Understanding Context, Appearance, Meaning, and Perception

Mahbubur Meenar,Shane Walsh,Jordan Howell,Devon Moulton

doi:10.3390/land9120534

Abstract

Prior research has documented environmental and economic benefits of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI); literature on GSI social benefits is also becoming more prevalent among scholars around the world. This paper aims to understand whether GSI projects are considered as assets to urban neighborhoods or as projects that might introduce a new set of social concerns. Based on field observations of 238 GSI projects and 50 intercept interviews, we investigate selected social aspects of GSI, such as project context, visual appearance, recreational appeal, meaning, and public perception, in two neighboring US cities—Philadelphia and Camden. Analysis of field data and observation notes revealed that GSI project setting impacted recreational appeal; their appearance was related to maintenance and signage; and their interaction with the public depended on location, land use, and visual/recreational appeal. Most GSI sites with the presence of trash, but the absence of signage were found in potentially disadvantaged areas. According to intercept interviews, many people were not aware of GSI presence in the neighborhood, were not familiar with GSI or its functionality, did not find a way to get access to GSI or interact with them, and were generally concerned about poor design, defective construction, or lack of maintenance. We argue that lack of information and community care/support for GSI can result in social disinvestments in these projects, which can facilitate improper use and maintenance issues, affecting their intended basic environmental functions. Consistent with prior research, we speak to the importance of participatory planning processes in improving community acceptance and interests around GSI planning and installation in urban landscapes.

Highlights

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has the potential to mitigate a considerable amount of runoff from storms and flooding, whilst simultaneously improving the aesthetic and ecological performance of an urban built environment [1]
Porous paving as a green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) project, for example, may not offer recreational value by itself, but these projects were usually located within sites meant to have recreational amenities, such as hard-surface play spaces
Sites with both the presence of trash or debris and no signage in Philadelphia, 72% were found in potentially disadvantaged tracts. These findings indicate that GSI sites available to disadvantaged populations may be more susceptible to misuse due to lack of maintenance, leading to an influx of trash or debris, and the lack of signage can lead to a lack of understanding and increased amounts of misuse in these tracts

Summary

Introduction

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has the potential to mitigate a considerable amount of runoff from storms and flooding, whilst simultaneously improving the aesthetic and ecological performance of an urban built environment [1]. Land 2020, 9, 534 costs than comparable gray infrastructure; and social benefits to promote a sense of community, public health, and mental health [3]. These projects are becoming increasingly common in post-industrial urban neighborhoods characterized by vacant lands and marginalized communities, older cities with combined sewer systems (CSS), shrinking cities, high-density cities, or cities experiencing extreme and frequent storm events in recent years [4,5,6].

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