Arup Global Research Challenge: Delivering green infrastructure in cities through a new business model
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Civil Engineering and Geosciences
Abstract
Globally, green infrastructure is recognised as an important tool that can address a range of interwoven benefits in urban areas such as: reducing flood risk, reducing urban heat island effects, reducing water pollution, improving air quality, reducing noise, providing amenity provision and well-being. The challenges these benefits address are projected to intensify in the context of climate change and urban population growth. The potential to achieve these benefits is made difficult by the traditional models for delivering green infrastructure and complexities such as: understanding who benefits and hence who pays; valuing the benefits; the appropriate spatial scale for implementation; incentives and enforcement for its implementation and maintenance; and how its delivery interacts with existing infrastructure in urban areas.
Here we aim to identify, investigate and pilot tangible design, funding, implementation and operating models for green infrastructure which can be replicated or adapted internationally. An initial review of funding and delivery mechanism for green infrastructure will be undertaken from an academic and practitioners' viewpoint, drawing upon a range of literature sources. Simultaneously, laneways in Melbourne deemed suitable for 'greening' will be co-designed and implemented with local communities. An evaluation of the potential multiple benefits of laneways in the Melbourne will include social, economic and environmental benefits. An example of how these benefits can be quantified will be conducted in the context of flood risk by coupling Newcastle University's pluvial flood risk model of Melbourne that can illustrate the flood mitigation effect of green infrastructure with ARUP's economic tool, Floodlite. Stakeholder mapping of the beneficiaries, coupled with a conceptual map of how benefits flow, will inform the proposal of alternative business models for funding the delivery of laneways. These various elements will then be brought together to inform the development of a digital community funding platform for green infrastructure; this will be complimented by a set of recommendations and non-technical summary guide to green infrastructure funding. The process will be repeatable and transferable to enable communities to support green infrastructures in their neighbourhoods.
Joint funding from NERC and Arup (through their Global Research Challenge fund) will bring together teams from the scientific, government and practitioner communities and enable them to integrate the range of skills required to deliver this work.
Here we aim to identify, investigate and pilot tangible design, funding, implementation and operating models for green infrastructure which can be replicated or adapted internationally. An initial review of funding and delivery mechanism for green infrastructure will be undertaken from an academic and practitioners' viewpoint, drawing upon a range of literature sources. Simultaneously, laneways in Melbourne deemed suitable for 'greening' will be co-designed and implemented with local communities. An evaluation of the potential multiple benefits of laneways in the Melbourne will include social, economic and environmental benefits. An example of how these benefits can be quantified will be conducted in the context of flood risk by coupling Newcastle University's pluvial flood risk model of Melbourne that can illustrate the flood mitigation effect of green infrastructure with ARUP's economic tool, Floodlite. Stakeholder mapping of the beneficiaries, coupled with a conceptual map of how benefits flow, will inform the proposal of alternative business models for funding the delivery of laneways. These various elements will then be brought together to inform the development of a digital community funding platform for green infrastructure; this will be complimented by a set of recommendations and non-technical summary guide to green infrastructure funding. The process will be repeatable and transferable to enable communities to support green infrastructures in their neighbourhoods.
Joint funding from NERC and Arup (through their Global Research Challenge fund) will bring together teams from the scientific, government and practitioner communities and enable them to integrate the range of skills required to deliver this work.
Planned Impact
The mechanism of funding green infrastructure is a key inhibitor to its widespread implementation in cities. Development of a platform that identifies the main benefits and beneficiaries of the wide range of economic, social and economic values of green infrastructure, coupled with the development of appropriate approaches of funding will have widespread impact. The project will capture the wider range of values and benefits of green infrastructure and help identify and unlock funding and financing opportunities for GI, demonstrated using the green laneways of Melbourne. Furthermore, recognising and unlocking the full potential social and environmental benefits of GI, such as access to green areas for recreation or reduced air pollution will lead to improvements in health and well-being of communities. In the UK, the National Assessment of Ecosystem Services noted that because of these and other benefits, the value of living near green infrastructure is as much as £300 per person per year.
The unique, transferable platform for testing alternative funding mechanisms for green infrastructure may be used as a template for future green infrastructure projects that may be initiated by communities, local authorities or businesses at a range of spatial scales. The design and implementation of a qualitative in depth evaluation of the prototype green infrastructure project through interviews and consultation with project officers and other stakeholders in Melbourne, will be critical in order to collate individual experiences and derive learnings from the process of implementation. The learnings will be expected to be widely applicable and will allow refinement and validation of the conceptual framing of identifying the wide range of benefits and beneficiaries. Furthermore the evaluation will result in recommendations that can improve the transferable model and make it more applicable to be applied globally as well as understanding the specific circumstances in Melbourne.
The unique, transferable platform for testing alternative funding mechanisms for green infrastructure may be used as a template for future green infrastructure projects that may be initiated by communities, local authorities or businesses at a range of spatial scales. The design and implementation of a qualitative in depth evaluation of the prototype green infrastructure project through interviews and consultation with project officers and other stakeholders in Melbourne, will be critical in order to collate individual experiences and derive learnings from the process of implementation. The learnings will be expected to be widely applicable and will allow refinement and validation of the conceptual framing of identifying the wide range of benefits and beneficiaries. Furthermore the evaluation will result in recommendations that can improve the transferable model and make it more applicable to be applied globally as well as understanding the specific circumstances in Melbourne.
Organisations
- Newcastle University (Lead Research Organisation)
- Arup Group (Collaboration)
- City of Melbourne (Project Partner)
- Construction Industry Research and Information Association (Project Partner)
- Thick (Project Partner)
- Newcastle City Council (Project Partner)
- Arup Group (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
Publications
Walsh CL
(2016)
Crowdfunding and Green Infrastructure
Walsh C
(2016)
Alternative business models for flood risk management infrastructure
in E3S Web of Conferences
Ford A
(2018)
Land-use transport models for climate change mitigation and adaptation planning
in Journal of Transport and Land Use
Walsh CL
(2018)
Putting green infrastructure to the test for urban catchments
Frantzeskaki N
(2019)
Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Climate Change Adaptation: Linking Science, Policy, and Practice Communities for Evidence-Based Decision-Making
in BioScience
More A
(2022)
Re-integration of heritage water systems: spatial lessons for present-day water management
in Blue-Green Systems
Description | Over the next 100 years, it is estimated that England will need £0.6-1bn annual investment to manage flood and coastal erosion risk. Given constraints on central government spending following the 2008 financial crisis, the full burden of this is unlikely to be met by government alone. There is therefore a need to consider the potential for alternative business models for flood risk management infrastructure. An infrastructure business model describes how value is created, delivered and captured over the life cycle of the infrastructure system. Value is used, as opposed to benefit, as this better reflects the regard that something is held to deserve, its importance and worth. Business models should consider issues around funding, finances, governance, regulation and users. Alternatives to incumbent business models are starting to emerge across a range of infrastructure sectors, predominantly motivated by two key factors: (i) mainstream approaches do not deliver the benefits that communities want, (ii) tax payer funds are too constrained to deliver all the infrastructure investment that is sought. This work has considered a number of alternative business models for flood risk management infrastructure. Typically, those under consideration or applied in other infrastructure sectors focus on alternative funding and financing arrangements. Important though these issues are, they take a narrow view to infrastructure value, and hence limit the diversity of actors and resources who might also enable truly alternative business models to emerge in practise. This paper identifies, and explores, a crucial first step to identifying and implementing alternative approaches. This involves taking a more systemic and longer term view to assessing infrastructure values. These should include social, environmental, resilience and other values of infrastructure - identifying who benefits, how they benefit, where and when the benefit occurs and accrues, and mapping interdependencies that may offer further risks or opportunities. |
Exploitation Route | We are in the process of publishing a number of business model 'templates' for others to consider and use. The Environment Agency (UK), Newcastle (UK) and Melbourne (Australia) City Councils are three of the organisations who have shown an interest and started to explore and test the different approaches. |
Sectors | Environment |
Description | The Environment Agency, Newcastle City Council and Melbourne City Council (working with local consultancy THICK) have been exploring the potential for applying these business models. They have fed into the government review of flood resilience, which has recognised the need to rethink how flood management infrastructure, especially green infrastructure, is funded and maintained. The work has also informed the development of the UKCRIC research programme and the investment in the Green Infrastructure research labs at Newcastle. |
First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
Sector | Environment |
Impact Types | Societal Economic |
Description | Appointed to National Infrastructure Commission Technical Expert Group |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
Impact | I advise the National Infrastructure Commission on their infrastructure planning and policies. |
URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-infrastructure-commission |
Description | Chaired the Infrastructure Section of the 2017 UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
Impact | The CCRA conclusions were accepted by government. They are currently developing an adaptation strategy to address the risks identified. |
URL | https://www.theccc.org.uk/tackling-climate-change/preparing-for-climate-change/climate-change-risk-a... |
Description | National Infrastructure Commission |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-infrastructure-commission |
Description | NERC SHEAR Catalyst Grant |
Amount | £253,013 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/S005994/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2018 |
End | 10/2020 |
Description | Towards resilience to pluvial flood events |
Amount | £253,013 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/S005994/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2018 |
End | 10/2020 |
Description | UKRI GCRF Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub |
Amount | £20,000,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/S008179/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2019 |
End | 02/2024 |
Description | Urban Green DAMS (Design and Modelling of SUDS) |
Amount | £780,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/S005862/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2018 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | Arup |
Organisation | Arup Group |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Results and expertise |
Collaborator Contribution | Data, stakeholder contacts, expertise |
Impact | Ongoing |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Cities Alive Event (ARUP, Newcastle) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited speaker at an event hosted by ARUP to launch their 'Cities Alive' publication to share the vision and ongoing research at the National Green Infrastructure Facility and Newcastle Urban Observatory. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Conference call with project stakeholders - update on the methodology and findings to date. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Mid-project dissemination event. Initial findings discussed and a shared view of how the project should progress. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Dissemination event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The projects main outputs and outcomes were presented to stakeholders. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | H7O: Global Water Security Innovations and Challenges |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Organised a major international symposium on water security. Led to follow on interactions with industry and national and international researchers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | IPCC Cities and Climate Change Conference - Session on Nature Based Solutions |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Chaired a session and presented work at the UN IPCC Citeis and Climate Change Conference in Edmonton, 2018. The workshop involved academics, policy makers, industry, hird sector organisations and practitioners. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://citiesipcc.org/programme/ |
Description | Mainstreaming nature into the Planning System |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Over 150 people attended this event 'Mainstreaming nature into the Planning System', which was a final event for Prof Alister Scott's NERC knowledge exchange fellowship. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://mainstreaminggreeninfrastructure.com/project-page.php?mainstreaming-nature-using-green-infra... |