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Green Infrastructure in Context: Public Health and Ecosystem Services
Citation:
Schifman, L., A. Ossola, N. Christopher, W. Shuster, D. Wiegand, AND M. Hopton. Green Infrastructure in Context: Public Health and Ecosystem Services. Presented at World Water Week, Stockholm, SWEDEN, August 27 - September 01, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Integrating socio-hydrology and public health principles into urban stormwater management can inform urban planning to stimulate resilience to changes in climate forcing and vector ecology. We present two case studies that identify potential green infrastructure benefits toward public health in subtropical urban areas (San Juan, PR and New Orleans, LA).
Description:
Using interdisciplinary approaches to urban water management strategies can yield benefits for sustainability. While green infrastructure (GI) has primarily been used to increase infiltration/redistribution and reduce runoff in urban areas, the physical siting of GI can provide other socio-ecological benefits such as habitat for biodiversity, increased property values, reduced heat island effects, etc. By situating GI in the broader context of the city as a socio-hydrologic system, we emphasize that traditional stormwater management services and anticipated public health benefits can be jointly realized. We present two case studies where contextual GI emphasize public health, stormwater management, and cultural services.