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Green Infrastructure and the Hidden Politics of Urban Stormwater Governance in a Postindustrial City

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  • Michael H. Finewood
  • A. Marissa Matsler
  • Joshua Zivkovich

Abstract

Infrastructure tells a material story of ongoing challenges in cities, reflecting the diverse, normative desires of different communities. In this article we examine the introduction of green infrastructure technologies into urban infrastructure systems to think critically about these challenges and desires. Green infrastructure is an intentionally designed, multifunctional technology that directly uses or mimics the ecological processes of soils and plants (e.g., green rooftops, rain gardens, and bioswales). Facing budget shortfalls as well as demands to mitigate hazards and green the city, urban leaders are looking at green infrastructure as a facility that can provide diverse cobenefits along with traditional services. A focus on stormwater-based metrics, however—effectively reframing green infrastructure as green stormwater infrastructure—discursively tamps down alternative politics and desires for the city. Through a case study of Pittsburgh’s stormwater governance, we argue that the work to (re)technologize green infrastructure as green stormwater infrastructure is an act of depoliticization that hinders needed conversations about just infrastructure outcomes. We draw on themes from qualitative interviews with community members engaged in urban water governance to suggest that these moments of transition provide an opportunity to illuminate previously obscured infrastructure politics and challenge the forms of knowledge that bind us to conventional routines of urban environmental governance. We see an opportunity to reframe the conversation in a way that opens up opportunities for historically disenfranchised communities to voice their needs beyond the technocratic problem of stormwater management.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael H. Finewood & A. Marissa Matsler & Joshua Zivkovich, 2019. "Green Infrastructure and the Hidden Politics of Urban Stormwater Governance in a Postindustrial City," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 109(3), pages 909-925, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:raagxx:v:109:y:2019:i:3:p:909-925
    DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2018.1507813
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    Cited by:

    1. Remme, Roy P. & Meacham, Megan & Pellowe, Kara E. & Andersson, Erik & Guerry, Anne D. & Janke, Benjamin & Liu, Lingling & Lonsdorf, Eric & Li, Meng & Mao, Yuanyuan & Nootenboom, Christopher & Wu, Tong, 2024. "Aligning nature-based solutions with ecosystem services in the urban century," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Hynes, Stephen & Burger, Ryan & Tudella, João & Norton, Daniel & Chen, Wenting, 2022. "Estimating the costs and benefits of protecting a coastal amenity from climate change-related hazards: Nature based solutions via oyster reef restoration versus grey infrastructure," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    3. Xifan Chen & Lihua Xu & Rusong Zhu & Qiwei Ma & Yijun Shi & Zhangwei Lu, 2022. "Changes and Characteristics of Green Infrastructure Network Based on Spatio-Temporal Priority," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Blal Adem Esmail & Lina Suleiman, 2020. "Analyzing Evidence of Sustainable Urban Water Management Systems: A Review through the Lenses of Sociotechnical Transitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-45, June.
    5. Wenying Wang & Shuwen Wang, 2024. "Sustainable Stormwater Management for Different Types of Water-Scarce Cities: Environmental Policy Effect of Sponge City Projects in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-21, July.
    6. Eunjoung Lee & Gunwoo Kim, 2022. "Analysis of Domestic and International Green Infrastructure Research Trends from the ESG Perspective in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-18, June.
    7. Juhann Waller, 2023. "Stormwater Capital Improvement Planning: A Framework for Project Identification and Prioritization for Pluvial Flood Mitigation," Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 3(2), pages 93-115, September.
    8. Hui Sun & Chunhui Liu & Jiaxing Wei, 2021. "Identifying Key Sites of Green Infrastructure to Support Ecological Restoration in the Urban Agglomeration," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-13, November.
    9. Fernando Castillo-Cabrera & Thilo Wellmann & Dagmar Haase, 2020. "Urban Green Fabric Analysis Promoting Sustainable Planning in Guatemala City," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-26, December.
    10. Xu, Min & Liu, Yong & Cui, Caiyun & Xia, Bo & Ke, Yongjian & Skitmore, Martin, 2023. "Social acceptance of NIMBY facilities: A comparative study between public acceptance and the social license to operate analytical frameworks," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    11. Zhou, Yang & Tang, Zhen & Qian, Xiaoyan & Mardani, Abbas, 2021. "Digital manufacturing and urban conservation based on the Internet of Things and 5 G technology in the context of economic growth," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    12. Tong Chen & Mo Wang & Jin Su & Rana Muhammad Adnan Ikram & Jianjun Li, 2023. "Application of Internet of Things (IoT) Technologies in Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI): A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-22, September.
    13. Richard Meissner, 2022. "eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure policy landscape: research paradigms, theories and epistocrats," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 543-560, September.
    14. Mell, Ian, 2020. "The impact of austerity on funding green infrastructure: A DPSIR evaluation of the Liverpool Green & Open Space Review (LG&OSR), UK," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    15. Valencia Torres, Angélica & Tiwari, Chetan & Atkinson, Samuel F., 2021. "Progress in ecosystem services research: A guide for scholars and practitioners," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    16. Yu Chen & Jacopo Gaspari, 2023. "Exploring an Integrated System for Urban Stormwater Management: A Systematic Literature Review of Solutions at Building and District Scales," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, June.
    17. Deely, John & Hynes, Stephen & Barquín, José & Burgess, Diane & Finney, Graham & Silió, Ana & Álvarez-Martínez, Jose Manuel & Bailly, Denis & Ballé-Béganton, Johanna, 2020. "Barrier identification framework for the implementation of blue and green infrastructures," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).

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