Raising the standard: Developing a benchmark for green infrastructure

Abstract

Green infrastructure (GI) is globally recognised as an essential component of liveable and sustainable places. It is valued for its multifunctionality and the connectedness of the individual features to each other, the surrounding countryside and urban populations. It brings together many land uses (e.g. parks, gardens, cemeteries, allotments, nature reserves, surface water), urban design (e.g. street trees, landscaping) and functional features (e.g. sustainable urban drainage systems, green roofs) operating at differing spatial scales. It is widely acknowledged that GI is the primary mechanism for delivering ecosystem services in towns and cities, and there is a substantial body of research demonstrating the multiple benefits of GI to urban populations. Despite this evidence base, there is still considerable uncertainty about the best way to design, deliver and maintain GI. This paper presents an emerging benchmark that has been developed through a combination of literature review and engagement with key stakeholders. It provides a suite of standards that are flexible enough to be used across different spatial scales depending on the specific needs of the location, covering the form and function of GI including nature conservation, water management, health and well-being, environmental and design quality. It allows an assessment of GI policy, and the planning, design, delivery and long-term management of GI in new and existing places, ensuring that current good practice is adopted at all stages. The development of the benchmark to date is summarised along with the outcome of preliminary testing using the outline planning applications for two contrasting mixed-use developments. This found that the benchmark performed well, with standards set at a level to ensure that high-quality GI is rewarded but without requiring a level of GI provision and quality that would only be expected on truly exemplary developments. Plans for the future development and testing of the benchmark are provided.

Challenges of mainstreaming green infrastructure in built environment professions

“…Although we have presented them as individual challenges, we argue that challenges need to be considered in an integrative manner. For example, design standards have to align with the local policy context, as the case of Building with Nature in the United Kingdom demonstrates (Sinnett et al 2018). Regulations are more stringent when design parameters have not been institutionalized, which can lead to increased costs.…”

“…Data sharing and collaboration between cities can facilitate learning and expedite successful implementation. Equity issues should be at the centre of every effort, so a people-centred approach that considers the input of all stakeholders throughout the process must be adopted (Sinnett et al 2017). Finally, GI projects at the neighbourhood scale should be considered part of a larger network of green space and transportation systems, at the watershed scale (following the hydrological unit), with an appropriate governance paradigm (Dhakal and Chevalier 2016).…”

“…The design standards challenge reflects the significant uncertainty around how best to plan, design, implement, and maintain GI (Baptiste, Foley, and Smardon 2015;Campbell, Svendsen, and Roman 2016;Sinnett et al 2018). From our interviews with resilience managers, we found that there is limited capacity in the design phase.…”

“…Some cities are working to address this challenge through partnerships between public, private, non-profit, and academic research organizations. For example, in the United Kingdom, the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in partnership with planners and developers from the West of England and researchers from the University of the West of England recently launched the "Building with Nature" design standards for GI (Sinnett et al 2017). Structured as a third-party organization, Building with Nature aims to define what 'good green infrastructure' is, providing a certification service through a set of publicly available standards.…”

Embedding social inclusiveness and appropriateness in engineering assessment of green infrastructure to enhance urban resilience

“…However, the recent release of the Building with Nature Benchmark for GI (Sinnett, Smith, and Burgess 2015;Gloucester Wildlife Trust and UWE, Bristol, Sinnett et al 2017) could help resolve such issues as it covers themes of wildlife, water and wellbeing (in three levels of achievementcandidate, achieved and excellent). The benchmark highlights that GI needs to respond to the local context and that currently the quality and appropriateness of GI decline through the planning process, with a corresponding lack of enforcement on delivery quality (Sinnett et al 2017(Sinnett et al , 2018. As it provides a suite of 24 flexible standards for application across spatial scales, it would be relatively straightforward to embed the benchmark in engineering assessment.…”