Adoption Of Green Infrastructure Research Articles

‘Green icing on the Gray Cake?’ Green infrastructure in federal enforcement action

ABSTRACT A growing number of local governments are adopting Green Infrastructure (GI) as a strategy for urban stormwater management. In the United States, GI has gained particular momentum through federal initiatives. Previous studies have identified regulatory factors playing a pivotal role in the adoption of GI at the local level. However, the integration of GI with federal enforcement actions has received limited research attention. This study examines the first generation of federal consent decrees with GI provisions to provide insights into federal GI policy and local GI planning. The findings reveal inconsistency in GI requirements, with some cases merely encouraging GI adoption, while others mandating a more specific approach to planning and implementation. Drawing on existing GI scholarship, the results of this study suggest the establishment of universal requirements, such as piloting projects, defining success criteria, and incorporating equity considerations into local GI planning.

Understanding the Multi-faceted Barriers to Residents' Adoption of Green Infrastructure: The case of Villakent, Izmir

Understanding the Multi-faceted Barriers to Residents' Adoption of Green Infrastructure: The case of Villakent, Izmir

Intention to Install Green Infrastructure Features in Private Residential Outdoor Space

Green infrastructure (GI) features in private residential outdoor space play a key role in expanding GI networks in cities and provide multiple co-benefits to people. However, little is known about residents' intended behavior concerning GI in private spaces. Resident homeowners in Toronto (Ontario, Canada) voluntarily participated in an anonymous postal survey (n = 533) containing questions related to likelihood to install additional GI features in their private outdoor space; experiences with this space, such as types of uses; and environmental concerns and knowledge. We describe the association between these factors and people's intention to install GI in private residential outdoor space. Factors such as environmental concerns and knowledge did not influence likelihood to install GI. However, experiences with private residential outdoor space, such as nature uses of this space, level of self-maintenance of this space, and previously installed GI features, were significant influences on the likelihood to install GI. These findings have important implications for managing GI initiatives and the adoption of GI in private residential spaces, such as orienting communication materials around uses of and experiences with outdoor space, having programs that generate direct experiences with GI features, and considering environmental equity in such programs.

A Synthesis of Social and Economic Benefits Linked to Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure (GI) is a land development approach that uses a network of natural and built areas and waterways to create healthier urban environments. This study presents a synthesis of GI planning and adoption in 16 cities selected from around the world; 12 of these cities are located in the United States. The study highlights key socio-economic benefits associated with GI adoption and documents analytical procedures used to quantify the benefits linked to GI implementation. The benefits as identified and reported in this study are qualitative rather than quantitative.

Hallmark of a Resilient City: Adoption of Green Infrastructure in African Cities

Dynamic urbanization of African cities has created development trajectories that face systemic challenges in the provision of sustainable and ecologically resilient urban environments. The specific challenges include extensive unregulated growth with informal settlements reflecting poor service levels and high poverty indices, inadequacy in provision of basic services in health, water, housing, transport and communication infrastructure, high reliance on biomass fuels, exposure to environmental stress and implausible climate change coping and mitigation mechanisms among others. Review of extensive literature and synthesis of existing bodies of knowledge on the ecological and management perspectives of urban environments revealed many gaps and understanding of urban transformation processes. The purpose of this review was to contextualize credible pathways for optimization of both ecosystem goods and services from green urban landscapes (Green infrastructure) and non-green infrastructure to ensure sustainable and ecologically resilient urban environments. Attempts were made to rationalize and validate through discussions the benefits of managed urban ecosystems for African cities. On the basis of the evidence from the literature, it is concluded that urban development trajectories that do not embrace multifaceted approaches that deliberately retain and maintain green infrastructure in the urban environment may not be cost-effective. It is recommended that systematic integration of urban forestry concepts in urban planning that involves communities, local and national governments, business entrepreneurs and public and private research institutions provides tenable frameworks for addressing current and future challenges of urbanization in Africa.

Modeling the Influence of Public Risk Perceptions on the Adoption of Green Stormwater Infrastructure: An Application of Bayesian Belief Networks Versus Logistic Regressions on a Statewide Survey of Households in Vermont

There is growing environmental psychology and behavior literature with mixed empirical evidence about the influence of public risk perceptions on the adoption of environmentally friendly “green behaviors”. Adoption of stormwater green infrastructure on residential properties, while costlier in the short term compared to conventional greywater infrastructure, plays an important role in the reduction of nutrient loading from non-point sources into freshwater rivers and lakes. In this study, we use Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) to analyze a 2015 survey dataset (sample size = 472 respondents) about the adoption of green infrastructure (GSI) in Vermont’s residential areas, most of which are located in either the Lake Champlain Basin or Connecticut River Basin. Eight categories of GSI were investigated: roof diversion, permeable pavement, infiltration trenches, green roofs, rain gardens, constructed wetlands, tree boxes, and others. Using both unsupervised and supervised machine learning algorithms, we used Bayesian Belief Networks to quantify the influence of public risk perceptions on GSI adoption while accounting for a range of demographic and spatial variables. We also compare the effectiveness of the Bayesian Belief Network approach and logistic regression in predicting the pro-environmental behaviors (adoption of GSI). The results show that influencing factors for current adoption differ by the type of GSI. Increased perception of risk from stormwater issues is associated with the adoption of rain gardens and infiltration trenches. Runoff issues are more likely to be considered the governments’ (town, state, and federal agencies) responsibility, whereas lawn erosion is more likely to be considered the residents’ responsibility. When using the same set of variables to predict pro-environmental behaviors (adoption of GSI), the BBN approach produces more accurate predictions compared to logistic regression. The results provide insights for further research on how to encourage residents to take measures for mitigating stormwater issues and stormwater management.

The contribution of scenic views of, and proximity to, lakes and reservoirs to property values

AbstractWater is arguably the world's most critical resource, although its aesthetic and recreational functions typically receive less attention than its consumptive uses. Views of, and access to, attractive water resources are capitalized into property prices in the form of sales price and rental premiums, measured since the 1970s with the hedonic pricing technique. This study synthesizes the evidence to date with respect to the value of lakes and reservoirs as aesthetic and recreational resources to nearby residents. Findings are reported relating to the effects of scenic views of, and proximity, to reservoirs and large artificial lakes, the North American Great Lakes, and other smaller inland lakes. Of the 44 distinct reviewed studies that included tests of statistical significance, only two failed to produce any significant findings in the directions anticipated (i.e., a positive impact of water frontage or view and/or negative impact of increasing distance). Improvements in methodological approaches—from early studies employing anecdotal observation and visual comparison to more recent investigations employing advanced geographical information systems and rigorous spatially explicit regression techniques—are traced. The potential implications of climate variability and changes for property values are addressed, as is the growing movement towards the adoption of green infrastructure. The need to consider changes to aesthetic and recreational values, in addition to outcomes for more traditional consumptive uses during cost–benefit analyses associated with proposed (re)developments, is emphasized.

The effects of green infrastructure on exceedance of critical shear stress in Blunn Creek watershed

Green infrastructure (GI) has attracted city planners and watershed management professional as a new approach to control urban stormwater runoff. Several regulatory enforcements of GI implementation created an urgent need for quantitative information on GI practice effectiveness, namely for sediment and stream erosion. This study aims at investigating the capability and performance of GI in reducing stream bank erosion in the Blackland Prairie ecosystem. To achieve the goal of this study, we developed a methodology to represent two types of GI (bioretention and permeable pavement) into the Soil Water Assessment Tool, we also evaluated the shear stress and excess shear stress for stream flows in conjunction with different levels of adoption of GI, and estimated potential stream bank erosion for different median soil particle sizes using real and design storms. The results provided various configurations of GI schemes in reducing the negative impact of urban stormwater runoff on stream banks. Results showed that combining permeable pavement and bioretention resulted in the greatest reduction in runoff volumes, peak flows, and excess shear stress under both real and design storms. Bioretention as a stand-alone resulted in the second greatest reduction, while the installation of detention pond only had the least reduction percentages. Lastly, results showed that the soil particle with median diameter equals to 64 mm (small cobbles) had the least excess shear stress across all design storms, while 0.5 mm (medium sand) soil particle size had the largest magnitude of excess shear stress. The current study provides several insights into a watershed scale for GI planning and watershed management to effectively reduce the negative impact of urban stormwater runoff and control streambank erosion.

Siting Urban Agriculture as a Green Infrastructure Strategy for Land Use Planning in Austin, TX

Green infrastructure refers to a type of land use design that mimics the natural water cycle by using the infiltration capacities of vegetation, soils, and other natural processes to mitigate stormwater runoff. As a multifunctional landscape, urban agriculture should be seen as a highly beneficial tool for urban planning not only because of its ability to function as a green stormwater management strategy, but also due to the multiple social and environmental benefits it provides. In 2012, the city of Austin adopted a major planning approach titled the “Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan” (IACP) outlining the city’s vision for future growth and land use up to 2039. The plan explicitly addresses the adoption of green infrastructure as a target for future land use with urban agriculture as a central component. Addressing this area of land use planning will require tools that can locate suitable areas within the city ideal for the development of green infrastructure. In this study, a process was developed to create a spatially explicit method of siting urban agriculture as a green infrastructure tool in hydrologically sensitive areas, or areas prone to runoff, in east Austin. The method uses geospatial software to spatially analyze open access datasets that include land use, a digital elevation model, and prime farmland soils. Through this method a spatial relationship can be made between areas of high surface runoff and where the priority placement of urban farms should be sited as a useful component of green infrastructure. Planners or geospatial analysts could use such information, along with other significant factors and community input, to aid decision makers in the placement of urban agriculture. This spatially explicit approach for siting potential urban farms, will support the integration of urban agriculture as part of the land use planning of Austin.

Understanding attitudes toward adoption of green infrastructure: A case study of US municipal officials

• I investigate municipal officials’ attitudes toward adoption of green infrastructure. • Perceived green infrastructure usefulness positively impact attitudes toward adoption. • Perceived readiness, compatibility and ease of use affect attitudes toward adoption. The objective of this paper is to develop and test a theoretical model grounded in technology acceptance, diffusion of innovation and organizational theories to identify factors that influence attitudes of local jurisdiction officials toward adoption of green infrastructure for stormwater management. The hypotheses are tested using survey data on green infrastructure collected from 256 local governments’ engineers, planners and other municipal officials across the US. Findings of structural equation modeling analyses partially support a hypothesis regarding the link between innovation characteristics and attitudes toward adoption, revealing that perceived usefulness has a significant direct influence on attitudes. They also confirm significant indirect effects of perceived compatibility, perceived internal readiness and perceived ease of use of green infrastructure on respondents’ attitudes toward adoption. The contributions of this paper are two-fold. First, this study assesses the applicability of a model combining elements of technology acceptance, diffusion of innovation and organizational theory to predict municipal officials’ attitudes toward green infrastructure. Second, it uncovers relevant innovation attributes explaining attitudes toward green stormwater infrastructure adoption.

Reconceptualizing green infrastructure for climate change adaptation: Barriers to adoption and drivers for uptake by spatial planners

Urban green infrastructure can help cities adapt to climate change. Spatial planning can play an important role in utilizing green infrastructure for adaptation. Yet climate change risks represent a different sort of challenge for planning institutions. This paper aims to address two issues arising from this challenge. First, it defines the concept of green infrastructure within the context of climate adaptation. Second, it identifies and puts into perspective institutional barriers to adopting green infrastructure for climate adaptation, including path dependence. We begin by arguing that there is growing confusion among planners and policy makers about what constitutes green infrastructure. Definitional ambiguity may contribute to inaction on climate change adaptation, because it muddies existing programs and initiatives that are to do with green-space more broadly, which in turn feeds path dependency. We then report empirical findings about how planners perceive the institutional challenge arising from climate change and the adoption of green infrastructure as an adaptive response. The paper concludes that spatial planners generally recognize multiple rationales associated with green infrastructure. However they are not particularly keen on institutional innovation and there is a tendency for path dependence. We propose a conceptual model that explicitly recognizes such institutional factors. This paper contributes to the literature by showing that agency and institutional dimensions are a limiting factor in advancing the concept of green infrastructure within the context of climate change adaptation.

Decentralised green infrastructure: the importance of stakeholder behaviour in determining spatial and temporal outcomes

The traditional approaches to resolving urban stormwater problems include costly expansion of collections systems and/or creation of in-line storage and treatment capacity. An emerging ‘green’ infrastructure (GI) approach would instead reduce runoff sources. An agent-based model is used to explore the spatiotemporal emergence of rain gardens and green roofs in Point Breeze, a 175 ha neighbourhood in South Philadelphia, PA, under two different scenarios. In the first, household GI adoption rules consider only economic self-interest and the physical compatibility of each GI technology with lot characteristics. In the second scenario, the adoption rules are enhanced based on insights into the possible behaviour of property owners, as intuited by the designers/authors over a two-year period using a variety of empirical methods. In Scenario 2, relevant knowledge and perceptions are transferred to household decision-makers through social networks, and exposure to GI is assumed to diffuse GI innovation. The two scenarios differ in the temporal rate of GI adoption in the neighbourhood at large (greater in Scenario 1), as well as in the spatial influence of early adopters in Scenario 2, underscoring the importance of stakeholder decisions in the ultimate the effectiveness of watershed-scale GI programs.