Priming the public to construct preferences for sustainable design: A discrete choice model for green infrastructure

Abstract

Planners and engineers increasingly seek input from the public about improving infrastructure systems in their communities. Aiding how the public constructs preferences may help increase their willingness to support less traditional environmental ideas like green infrastructure (e.g., rain gardens and bioswales). Decision-makers with little prior knowledge or experience tend to construct preferences as they evaluate options. The research presented in this paper explored how interventions to this preference construction process for the public can help encourage them to adopt more green infrastructure design. A national survey with 946 people in the United States was conducted to measure their perceived risks and benefits of a more conventional stormwater option with pipes and pumps and another using natural systems to hold and move stormwater. Half of the participants were randomly primed to think about the benefits of sustainable environmental design before making any judgments or decisions about the options. The prompt was developed using questions from the Envision Rating System, a tool to evaluate engineering design currently used on over 120 infrastructure projects across North America. Participants believed the green infrastructure option presented more risks but offered more benefits. Participants primed to think about the benefits of sustainable design evaluated the green infrastructure option as significantly more beneficial. The primed group was also more likely to recommend the green infrastructure option. A discrete choice model found that age, education, and perceived benefits contributed to the public's preference for green infrastructure. The cost of constructing the infrastructure and perceived risks were negative factors. The results highlight that considering the benefits of sustainable design before making design decisions about infrastructure changed how the public constructed preferences and their willingness to recommend green infrastructure.