Toward sustainable stormwater management : overcoming barriers to green infrastructure

Abstract

With their high concentrations of impervious surface, urban areas generate stormwater runoff that overwhelms existing infrastructure causing flooding, sewer overflows, water pollution, and habitat degradation. Under pressure to find cost-effective, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible solutions to stormwater management, cities are looking to green infrastructure. The term "green infrastructure," when used for stormwater management, denotes design techniques, such as raingardens, green roofs, permeable pavement, street trees, and rain barrels, that infiltrate, evapotranspirate, capture, and reuse stormwater onsite. With the added benefits of improving air quality, land values, wildlife habitat, urban heat island, and urban aesthetics, some decision-makers view green infrastructure as a silver bullet solution to address climate change, water quality, and other urban issues. As cities move to create neighborhood- and citywide-scale green infrastructure plans, my thesis explores the common barriers that cities face when implementing green infrastructure, as well as tactics that have been used to overcome those barriers. The realities of implementation indicate that cities seeking to scale up green infrastructure should plan on expanding public participation and awareness-raising, strengthening interdepartmental coordination and partnerships within the community, building the technical capacity of the public and the government, and developing innovative ways to continuously engage and motivate individuals.