IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i22p12520-d677859.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rapid Assessment and Long-Term Monitoring of Green Stormwater Infrastructure with Citizen Scientists

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Meixner

    (Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA)

  • Alan R. Berkowitz

    (Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA)

  • Alisen E. Downey

    (Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College, City University, New York, NY 11210, USA)

  • Jose Pillich

    (Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College, City University, New York, NY 11210, USA)

  • Reese LeVea

    (Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College, City University, New York, NY 11210, USA)

  • Brianne K. Smith

    (Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College, City University, New York, NY 11210, USA)

  • Mark Chandler

    (Citizen Science and Planetary Health, Boston College, Boston, MA 02467, USA)

  • Neha Gupta

    (Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA)

  • Stan Rullman

    (Earthwatch Institute, Boston, MA 02135, USA)

  • Anna Woodroof

    (Earthwatch Institute, Boston, MA 02135, USA)

  • Jennifer Cherrier

    (Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College, City University, New York, NY 11210, USA)

Abstract

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has emerged as a promising decentralized management approach to urban stormwater challenges. A lack of data about GSI performance interferes with widespread adoption of GSI. A citizen science program that benefits researchers, lay scientists, and municipalities offers a way to provide these lacking data. We have developed an open-source, transferable green infrastructure rapid assessment (GIRA) protocol for studying the performance of GSI with citizen scientists. This protocol has been tested in six North American cities (New York City, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, San Francisco, and Buffalo). In this research we define the performance of GSI in varying geographic, climatic, and maintenance conditions with the intent to create technological, institutional, and management solutions to urban stormwater problems. The GIRA protocol was used by citizen scientists to assess the physical properties and capabilities of bioswales, while small, affordable Green Infrastructure Sensors Boxes (GIBoxes) were used to determine longer-term function across several rain events. Our results indicate that teams of citizen scientists can be effective for collecting and archiving widespread information on the post-installation function of GSI. The effort also showed that citizen scientists had changes in understanding of urban stormwater challenges and the role that GSI can play in solving these problems. We explore the multiple benefits to knowledge, participants, and municipal partners as a result of this research.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Meixner & Alan R. Berkowitz & Alisen E. Downey & Jose Pillich & Reese LeVea & Brianne K. Smith & Mark Chandler & Neha Gupta & Stan Rullman & Anna Woodroof & Jennifer Cherrier, 2021. "Rapid Assessment and Long-Term Monitoring of Green Stormwater Infrastructure with Citizen Scientists," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-21, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12520-:d:677859
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12520/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12520/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hipp, Lena & Bünning, Mareike & Munnes, Stefan & Sauermann, Armin, 2020. "Problems and pitfalls of retrospective survey questions in COVID-19 studies," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 14(2), pages 109-1145.
    2. Danielle Dagenais & Isabelle Thomas & Sylvain Paquette, 2017. "Siting green stormwater infrastructure in a neighbourhood to maximise secondary benefits: lessons learned from a pilot project," Landscape Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 195-210, February.
    3. Usón, Tomás J. & Klonner, Carolin & Höfle, Bernhard, 2016. "Using participatory geographic approaches for urban flood risk in Santiago de Chile: Insights from a governance analysis," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 62-72.
    4. Christopher M. Chini & James F. Canning & Kelsey L. Schreiber & Joshua M. Peschel & Ashlynn S. Stillwell, 2017. "The Green Experiment: Cities, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Zachary Christman & Mahbubur Meenar & Lynn Mandarano & Kyle Hearing, 2018. "Prioritizing Suitable Locations for Green Stormwater Infrastructure Based on Social Factors in Philadelphia," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-17, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mahbubur Meenar & Jordan P. Howell & Devon Moulton & Shane Walsh, 2020. "Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning in Urban Landscapes: Understanding Context, Appearance, Meaning, and Perception," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Mahbubur Meenar & Megan Heckert & Deepti Adlakha, 2022. "“Green Enough Ain’t Good Enough:” Public Perceptions and Emotions Related to Green Infrastructure in Environmental Justice Communities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-17, January.
    3. Giulio Senes & Paolo Stefano Ferrario & Gianpaolo Cirone & Natalia Fumagalli & Paolo Frattini & Giovanna Sacchi & Giorgio Valè, 2021. "Nature-Based Solutions for Storm Water Management—Creation of a Green Infrastructure Suitability Map as a Tool for Land-Use Planning at the Municipal Level in the Province of Monza-Brianza (Italy)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Adams, Clare & Frantzeskaki, Niki & Moglia, Magnus, 2023. "Mainstreaming nature-based solutions in cities: A systematic literature review and a proposal for facilitating urban transitions," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    5. Richard Smardon, 2020. "Thomas Panagopoulos. Landscape urbanism and green infrastructure," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 208-209, June.
    6. Floris Boogaard & Daan Rooze & Roelof Stuurman, 2023. "The Long-Term Hydraulic Efficiency of Green Infrastructure under Sea Level: Performance of Raingardens, Swales and Permeable Pavement in New Orleans," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, January.
    7. Li, Jianghong & Bünning, Mareike & Kaiser, Till & Hipp, Lena, 2022. "Who suffered most? Parental stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany [Wer leidet am stärksten? Erziehungsstress und psychische Belastungen bei Eltern während der COVID-19 Pa," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 281-309.
    8. Tiia Kekäläinen & Enni-Maria Hietavala & Matti Hakamäki & Sarianna Sipilä & Eija K. Laakkonen & Katja Kokko, 2021. "Personality Traits and Changes in Health Behaviors and Depressive Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis from Pre-pandemic to Onset and End of the Initial Emergency Conditions ," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-14, July.
    9. Veronica Alejandra Neumann & Jochen Hack, 2019. "A Methodology of Policy Assessment at the Municipal Level: Costa Rica´s Readiness for the Implementation of Nature-Based-Solutions for Urban Stormwater Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-38, December.
    10. Robert Goodspeed & Ruoshui Liu & Dimitrios Gounaridis & Camilla Lizundia & Joshua Newell, 2022. "A regional spatial planning model for multifunctional green infrastructure," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(3), pages 815-833, March.
    11. Devindi Geekiyanage & Terrence Fernando & Kaushal Keraminiyage, 2021. "Mapping Participatory Methods in the Urban Development Process: A Systematic Review and Case-Based Evidence Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-28, August.
    12. Bustillos Ardaya, A. & Evers, M. & Ribbe, L., 2019. "Participatory approaches for disaster risk governance? Exploring participatory mechanisms and mapping to close the communication gap between population living in flood risk areas and authorities in No," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    13. Jelena Vukomanovic & Megan M. Skrip & Ross K. Meentemeyer, 2019. "Making It Spatial Makes It Personal: Engaging Stakeholders with Geospatial Participatory Modeling," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-11, February.
    14. Maria Gabriella Melchiorre & Barbara D’Amen & Sabrina Quattrini & Giovanni Lamura & Marco Socci, 2022. "Health Emergencies, Falls, and Use of Communication Technologies by Older People with Functional and Social Frailty: Ageing in Place in Deprived Areas of Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-23, November.
    15. Jackie Parker & Greg D. Simpson, 2018. "Visitor Satisfaction with a Public Green Infrastructure and Urban Nature Space in Perth, Western Australia," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-17, December.
    16. Galvin, Emily M. & BenDor, Todd K., 2023. "The economic impacts of green stormwater infrastructure: An evaluation of novel stormwater management policies in Washington, D.C," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    17. Sarah P. Church & Kristin M. Floress & Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad & Chloe B. Wardropper & Pranay Ranjan & Weston M. Eaton & Stephen Gasteyer & Adena Rissman, 2021. "How water quality improvement efforts influence urban–agricultural relationships," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(2), pages 481-498, June.
    18. Bwambale, Andrew & Uzondu, Chinebuli & Islam, Mohaimanul & Rahman, Farzana & Batool, Zahara & Isolo Mukwaya, Paul & Wadud, Zia, 2023. "Willingness to pay for COVID-19 mitigation measures in public transport and paratransit in low-income countries," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    19. Huamei Shao & Gunwoo Kim & Qing Li & Galen Newman, 2021. "Web of Science-Based Green Infrastructure: A Bibliometric Analysis in CiteSpace," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-19, July.
    20. Markus Wettstein & Hans-Werner Wahl & Anna Schlomann, 2022. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trajectories of Well-Being of Middle-Aged and older Adults: A Multidimensional and Multidirectional Perspective," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 3577-3604, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12520-:d:677859. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.