In their natural state, river systems support important processes like infiltration, sediment transport and deposition, and flooding. Rivers also host unique environments, like tributaries, wetlands, riparian banks, and floodplains. These are lands that are fertile and dynamic. These processes and environments have drawn humans to the banks of rivers. They also provide mechanisms for transport and trade and water for industrial processes.
The modern built urban landscape impedes the natural processes and changes the environments. Often, they are eliminated altogether. As a result, urban hydrology is complex and changing. Water flow paths, pollutant discharges, and flood impacts are more difficult to project on an ongoing basis. Urban areas are subject to the impacts of increased flood peaks, stormwater run-off, water quality issues, and increased heat. Climate change and historical inequities compound all these.
There is seldom a single solution for these multiple issues that urban communities face. Green infrastructure comes pretty close, especially when planned, designed, and implemented equitably.
a graph showing Urban Waters Learning Network Survey results about the scale of green infrastructure being implemented in their work. Neighborhood scale is the most widely used followed by parcel, subbasin, municipal and watershed.
Results of a 2023 Urban Waters Learning Network survey show that network members are implementing green infrastructure solutions on multiple scales.
A recent poll (June-Sept 2023) of the Urban Waters Learning Network shows that members are implementing green infrastructure on different scales. The multiple benefits for communities include include community engagement and education, workforce development programs, access to green space, replenishing water resources, and ecosystem preservation.
With many names and applications, the reasons to employ green infrastructure practices are as varied as the communities that use them.
Baseline of Understanding: What is Green Infrastructure?
As outlined in several studies (Grabowski, et al., 2022and Matsler, et al., 2021), it is important to define the meaning of green infrastructure for any given project. It is also important to include other similar terms to make information sharing more accessible for related work. The type of green infrastructure employed depends on who is designing it (i.e. an ecologist vs. and urban planner). There are also differences depending on the primary outcome (i.e. creating greenspace to reduce heat, restoring ecosystems, or mitigating stormwater).
a rain garden with stones, mulch and plants and water flowing
a shed with water collection systems
Ecology-related green infrastructure includes plants and other natural elements (left). Green Stormwater Infrastructure may or may not incorporate greenery, like collecting rainwater in rain barrels (right). Employed on different scales, each creates varied benefits.
Matsler, et al. (2021) found from a review of academic and gray literature that ecology-related green infrastructure—like parks, greenways, and urban forests—uses different terms than green stormwater infrastructure. Ecology-related green infrastructure includes plants and other natural elements. Green Stormwater Infrastructure may or may not incorporate greenery (i.e permeable pavement). Findings are summarized in the table below.
Different terms for green infrastructure are commonly used. Click on the links above to learn more about each.
Incorporating Equity
Using green infrastructure to mitigate environmental impacts is a growing practice for climate resilience. Studies like Shokry, et al. (2020) point also to some negative social impacts of the widespread implementation of green infrastructure. Evidence suggests that green infrastructure siting does not benefit the most socio-ecologically vulnerable residents and also contributes to their displacement.
a sidewalk surrounded by trees and overtopped by floodwaters
It’s findings like these that prompted Hoover, et al. (2021)to analyze green infrastructure siting criteria and their environmental justice implications. They found that there are multiple criteria for siting green infrastructure installations—including hydrologic, social, economic, and others—but justice is not one of them.
Furthermore, in a perspective essay, Dr. Linda Shi (2020) points to the need for new governance structures—new funding mechanisms, interagency collaboration, multi-sector partnerships—to meet the intersection of green infrastructure and social justice.
a slide from a presentation detailing how to to develop and anti-displacement plan. Includes a colorful diagram with steps in the planning.
From the presentation, GILE presenters outlined steps to take to make green infrastructure implementation more equitable. Image: Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange
Urban Waters Learning Network Case Studies
The UWLN is a peer-to-peer network of urban waters practitioners. Expand and explore the searchable map to learn more.
Members of the Urban Waters Learning Network (UWLN) are working on green infrastructure to address different environmental issues. Case study examples highlighted here come from Providence, RI; New Orleans, LA, and Tucson, AZ.
From flooding to drought as well as high heat, organizations in these urban centers are designing green infrastructure solutions to meet community needs.
01 / 03
1
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council and Groundwork Rhode Island
Groundwork New Orleans(GWNO) is one of the 21 Groundwork Trusts in the United States. Established in 2006, the nonprofit aimed to restore and manage environmental resources in New Orleans while creating community partnerships and jobs.
Click the button below or keep scrolling to learn more.
The Watershed Management Group (WMG) is a nonprofit organization located in Tucson, AZ, where most of the water is currently pumped from groundwater and imported from the Colorado River. With 20 years of experience, community and educational programs for hydro-local practices have become their recent focus.
Click the button below or keep scrolling to learn more.
Green infrastructure work in Rhode Island started with the goal of reducing combined sewer overflows and improving water quality. Thanks to the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC) and Groundwork Rhode Island, the programming has expanded to include community voices and build community resilience.
Signs outside along a trail that read "Nature is at work here!" in both English and Spanish with diagrams explaining green infrastructure.
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
WRWC works in the 50 square mile area of northern Rhode Island. This also includes the City of Providence, where much of their environmental justice work is focused in the Olneyville neighborhood. Due to its low elevation and poor stormwater infrastructure, Olneyville is prone to flooding even from as little as one-inch of rain.
Developed in 2019, Nuevas Voces (or New Voices) is a now well-established leadership development program delivered in Spanish that includes resident-to-resident advocacy training. Participants from the program are compensated by WRWC. Now, they lead the program and sit on several local boards and commissions.
Building on this program, WRWC launched Campeones de Combate Climático (or Climate Champions) that are learning about and implementing nature-based solutions in the Olneyville neighborhood. Ten participants learned about how to:
site climate adaptation projects,
find funding and partners, and
navigate the complex systems to get projects past the finish line.
The Campeones are working closely with WRWC’s River Rangers—a year-round team of professionals that sustain and improve the Woony River Greenwaywith nature-based solutions.
BIPOC children ride bikes along a greenway
WRWC bike campers use the Woonasquatucket River Greenway.
Photo: Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
A group of people posing for a picture, outside on a greenway
Groundwork Rhode Island
Two key programs of Groundwork RI—Green Team and GroundCorp Landscape—invest in local youth and adults. Both provide education and hands-on experience in the field pertaining to green infrastructure and more. GroundCorp Landscape is a licensed contractor in the state. In the last couple of years, they have installed 57 sidewalk bioswales in the City of Providence. Projects decrease stormwater run-off and flooding and increase green spaces.
Urban forestry is another way in which Groundwork RI does green infrastructure work. Partnering with Groundwork USA’s Climate Safe Neighborhood Program and using American Forests Tree Equity Score, they mapped redlined communities in relation to higher heat index and less green space to create priority areas for planting.
Mapping the Path to Tree Equity: A video produced by American Forests that documents Leandro Castro's journey as he uses American Forests’ Tree Equity Score tool in his community to address unequal tree distribution in Providence.
Groundwork RI is also partnering with the City of Providence in a recently awarded a NOAA Climate-Ready Coasts grant to restore the Port of Providence. Groundwork RI will use WRWC’s Nuevas Voces community engagement model as a part of the project, which is also considering the implementation of nature-based solutions.
Red and blue apartment buildings in background; two men working in raised bed gardens in foreground.
Workforce Development in New Orleans
Since it was established in 2006, Groundwork New Orleans (GWNO) has focused on installing rain gardens, bioswales, and drainage infrastructure. These protect the community from flooding and provide access to green spaces. Projects that they work on are identified as priorities by the community.
“We literally start all of our projects from the community level…the community is involved every step of the way.” ~Todd Reynolds, Executive Director, Groundwork New Orleans
To implement these projects, GWNO engages adults from the local community in the Ground CREW program. (CREW stands for Climate Resilient Environmental Workforce).
Four people work on a garden beside a city street.
The Ground CREW installs a green infrastructure element in New Orleans. Photo: Groundwork New Orleans
There is no term limit for participating in the Ground CREW program. GWNO employs participants who see projects through from start to finish.
a construction crew work on a project, planting large trees that have been placed with a large construction vehicle.
Ground CREW prepares Legacy Park. Image: Groundwork New Orleans
A recent GWNO Newsletter highlights completed projects in New Orleans. These include Legacy Park, Claiborne Avenue, and Prytania Street (or the Polly Project). All are continually maintained and more projects are underway. These projects reduce stormwater flooding and issues in the New Orleans pumping system. They also provide access to green space and create jobs for residents in environmental justice neighborhoods.
“Hydro-Local is our way of saying - using our local water resources in a beneficial & sustainable way (rainwater, greywater, stormwater) to reduce reliance on extractive waters like mined groundwater or imported Colorado River water...In order to live Hydro-Locally, we must re-hydrate our watersheds by reclaiming our floodplains, replenishing rivers and wetlands, restoring soil cover, increasing tree canopy and native forests, and letting nature do its work…This is fundamentally an act of gratitude—fostering a reciprocal relationship with nature.”
~Watershed Management Group
WMG’sLiving Lab provides a demonstration of hydro-local green infrastructure techniques. It serves as a community hub equipped with learning spaces, gardens, and rainwater collection devices. Scaling up the work of the Living Lab, theRiver Run Network reaches a broader audience in the Tucson region to connect personal stewardship to restoring the health of nearby creeks and rivers. Members of the network engage in river clean-ups and community science. Both provide learning opportunities for regenerative desert living.
A group of people wearing masks, outside on a brick surface, looking at and learning about trees (in pots) and where to plant them.
Participants learn about planting the right plant in the right place during a Family Saturday BYOB workshop at WMG’s Living Lab and Learning Center. Photo: Watershed Management Group
Another program of WMG, Build Your Own Basin (BYOB) makes water harvesting and hydro-local practices more accessible. Starting in 2020, WMG provided BYOB materials virtually through a series of videos. The materials also include aBYOB Zine (also available in Spanish), and a BYOB kit—which includes a native tree, shrub, some bunch grasses, and mulch—with instructions to create basins at home.
Since then, they have expanded this work to support Tucson underserved communities. Shared goals include addressing heat island, flooding, and water scarcity. WMG has distributed hundreds of BYOB kits at no cost. They also trained neighborhood leaders to use BYOB and to spread the word. Communities make a difference by maximizing available space in the built environment to bring back the water cycle. Benefits include increasing green spaces, increasing shade-tree canopy, and managing flooding.
The BYOB program encourages the Tucson community to engage in collective action in their own backyards.
A group of people digging with shovels in a dirt patch near a road.
WMG and volunteers building a water-harvesting basin in Barrio Kroeger Lanein Tucson, AZ. Photo: Watershed Management Group
From reducing flooding and water quality issues to mitigating drought, green infrastructure provides tools that help to restore and replenish the natural environment. And, they are more sustainable when integrating equity and justice from the very beginning. As seen in the case study examples, members of the UWLN are working with communities to combine environmental solutions with multiple benefits like creating jobs in their neighborhoods and providing educational and advocacy tools. It’s clear that green infrastructure and nature-based solutions are gaining prominence because of the multiple benefits that they provide.
Resources
There are now more opportunities available to fund the work. Resources to support this work can be found below.
logo: Green Infrastructure Federal Collaborative (in blue text), blue and green lines make a circle around the words with a water drop and a leaf.
A garden with sidewalks and several beds with different plants
Funding Mechanisms and Technical Assistance
Federal, state, and local governments are funding green infrastructure work in different ways. Find below databases, learning and advocacy resources, and other local examples of funding for nature-based solutions.
National Wildlife Federation's Nature-based Solutions Funding Database aims to raise awareness of the federal funding and technical assistance opportunities that are available for nature-based solutions. Filters allow users to search based on purpose, eligibility, support type, cost sharing, and agency.
The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) Funding Navigator Program is designed to connect a partnership of communities, local government, and water utilities to funds and technical assistance. A Funding Navigator team works with the partnership to create and implement infrastructure strategies.
Clean Water Act State Revolving Funds (SRF) can also be used to fund green infrastructure projects. EPIC and the WaterNow Alliance have created resources to navigate infrastructure, operation and maintenance. River Network and the Clean Water For All Coalition have created aState Revolving Fund Advocacy Toolkit.
cover page for River Network's State Revolving Fund Advocacy Toolkit. Includes images of a flooded hydrant, cupped hands holding water, and a pipe releasing water.
Additional Learning Resources
See below additional information about peer groups, networks, and learning opportunities for green infrastructure solutions.
diagram with text and drawn images describing the flow of stormwater
Results of a 2023 Urban Waters Learning Network survey show that network members are implementing green infrastructure solutions on multiple scales.
From the presentation, GILE presenters outlined steps to take to make green infrastructure implementation more equitable. Image: Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange
WRWC bike campers use the Woonasquatucket River Greenway.
Photo: Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
The Ground CREW installs a green infrastructure element in New Orleans. Photo: Groundwork New Orleans
Ground CREW prepares Legacy Park. Image: Groundwork New Orleans
Participants learn about planting the right plant in the right place during a Family Saturday BYOB workshop at WMG’s Living Lab and Learning Center. Photo: Watershed Management Group
WMG and volunteers building a water-harvesting basin in Barrio Kroeger Lanein Tucson, AZ. Photo: Watershed Management Group
