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The Socio-Ecological Factors that Influence the Adoption of Green Infrastructure

Author

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  • Sarah J. Tayouga

    (Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA)

  • Sara A. Gagné

    (Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA)

Abstract

Green infrastructure is defined as any type of infrastructure that has the purpose of lessening the burden of development on the environment and/or has the aim of providing ecosystem services, such as runoff management, air temperature reduction, carbon sequestration, and habitat provisioning. Despite these potential benefits and a recent increase in popularity, the widespread use of green infrastructure has been limited. To ascertain why this may be the case, we asked: What are the socio-ecological factors that influence the adoption of green infrastructure? To answer this question, we carried out a review of the literature. We found 32 papers addressing our research topic, three quarters of which were published since 2009. Based on the results and conclusions of the articles we reviewed, we identify six factors that influence the adoption of green infrastructure: Education, the Provision of Ecosystem Services, Financial Incentives, Coordination Among Actors, Laws and Policies, and Planning Recommendations. We present a model of the direct and indirect effects of each factor on the adoption of green infrastructure and investigate the geographic variability of factors. Our results indicate that Education, the Provision of Ecosystem Services, and Financial Incentives are the most influential factors affecting the adoption of green infrastructure because they are supported by the greatest number of articles regardless of location of study and have the greatest number of linkages with other factors and adoption in our model. We conclude with evidence-based strategies to promote the use of green infrastructure in order to create more sustainable environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah J. Tayouga & Sara A. Gagné, 2016. "The Socio-Ecological Factors that Influence the Adoption of Green Infrastructure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:12:p:1277-:d:84624
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Machado, Ricardo A.S. & Oliveira, Anderson G. & Lois-González, Rubén C., 2019. "Urban ecological infrastructure: The importance of vegetation cover in the control of floods and landslides in Salvador / Bahia, Brazil," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    3. Daniel Kozak & Hayley Henderson & Alejandro de Castro Mazarro & Demián Rotbart & Rodolfo Aradas, 2020. "Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) in Dense Urban Watersheds. The Case of the Medrano Stream Basin (MSB) in Buenos Aires," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-30, March.
    4. Zwierzchowska, Iwona & Fagiewicz, Katarzyna & Poniży, Lidia & Lupa, Piotr & Mizgajski, Andrzej, 2019. "Introducing nature-based solutions into urban policy – facts and gaps. Case study of Poznań," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 161-175.

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