Abstract
Urbanization and climate change have impacted the ecosystems of the US cities. Impervious surfaces in the urbanized areas are a critical issue for both challenges and green infrastructure can be an alternative solution to achieve urban sustainability. Green infrastructure protects urban ecosystems by reducing imperviousness as treating stormwater runoff and providing other multifaceted benefits. However, even with the great potential, its adoption is still discouraged due to limited understanding and guidance especially for the cities with a growth-driven policy. This paper proposes that green infrastructure, particularly green streets in relation to impervious surfaces, can deliver urban sustainability by providing a better understanding to promote the acceptance and successful adoption of green streets through literature review and case studies in the US. Green streets are primarily implemented within the right-of-way and facilitate stormwater treatment along with diverse street designs providing multiple benefits such as flood management, wildlife habitat and natural pathway creation, neighborhood beautification, cost-effective solution, and more. The defined green street typology in this paper is an important tool for communicating among planners and the public by providing form-based standardized classification. Green streets can be utilized as a sustainable development approach, fulfilling a variety of environmental, social, and economic objectives.
Highlights
Urban sustainability in the US is at risk as the ecosystems of cities have been impacted by increasing population density in urban areas [1], further challenged by climate change such as extreme weather conditions [2]
While various definitions of the concept were identified in the previous chapter, green streets are most commonly described as an effective and affordable tool that treats stormwater with plants and soils pursuing multiple benefits for the better quality of life
Green streets differ from conventional streets because they include stormwater treatment facilities and emphasize multiple benefits such as promotion of pedestrian safety and aesthetic qualities of the environment by incorporating larger landscape areas and narrower roads
Summary
Urban sustainability in the US is at risk as the ecosystems of cities have been impacted by increasing population density in urban areas [1], further challenged by climate change such as extreme weather conditions (e.g., urban flooding, droughts) [2]. Rapid development in cities with high population density results in the increase of impervious surfaces (e.g., paved surfaces, building footprints) that affect urban ecosystem with excessive stormwater, accumulation of pollution in streams [3,4], and temperature increase (e.g., urban heat island) [5]. Extreme weather conditions such as urban flooding causes massive destruction on infrastructure, economics, and human lives in affected regions [6] while heat waves make people ill and die as exposed to extreme temperature for a longer period of time [7]. Adopting green infrastructure can promote sustainable urban ecosystems by increasing vegetation with greater biodiversity, improving well-being by promoting more green space [9], and climate resiliency by treating stormwater [10] and urban heat island effects [11]
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