An integrated and spatially scalable prioritization framework for green stormwater infrastructure planning: A trade-off analysis of socio-ecological vulnerability
Abstract
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) (e.g., rain gardens, trees, etc.) is widely used for its potential to reduce storm water management problems (e.g., poor water quality and increased streamflow velocities and flood risk due to impervious surfaces) while providing other human and ecosystem benefits. Despite increasing attention to the implementation of GSI, current planning and design methodologies do not adequately integrate site-scale design decisions with catchment-scale impacts and fail to consider the environmental and social justice implications of GSI siting decisions. Planning decisions are often based on limited information about the spatial tradeoffs and synergies of different types of GSI when considering their socio-ecological benefits and risks associated with multiple hazards.
This study presents a spatially-scalable optimization framework that uses the vulnerability of socio-ecologic systems as drivers for prioritizing locations and types of GSI installations. The framework rapidly identifies areas with the greatest suitability for GSI implementation using a multi-hazard framework to couple different socio-ecologic vulnerability indicators and screening rules associated with diverse design criteria and planning regulations. Using a graph-based approach with a simple distributed hydrologic model and mixed-integer linear programing, multi-objective optimization is performed to maximize potential GSI benefits to the most vulnerable areas. Results from applying the optimization framework to spatial prioritization of infiltration structures (e.g., rain gardens and ponds) and trees in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Dallas, Texas, show the spatial synergies and tradeoffs that exist between these two types of GSI when different hazard mitigation goals are considered (i.e., flooding and urban heat island). Moreover, the results show that the consideration of vulnerability in the spatial planning of GSI has significant impacts to its spatial allocation, which could result in aggravating disparities in social justice if ignored. Using the proposed approach, city and regional organizations can reduce the cost and time associated with identifying suitable areas for GSI implementation, allow more informed design work, and improve social justice and community buy-in.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.H13R2012R
- Keywords:
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- 1834 Human impacts;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1880 Water management;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1884 Water supply;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1894 Instruments and techniques: modeling;
- HYDROLOGY