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Governance of Green Infrastructure in the United States What is Green Infrastructure? Green infrastructure makes up the natural systems that are life support for the United States (Benedict, Mark & MacMahon, Edward).They include waterways and wetlands, woodlands and forests and are interconnected to “support native species, maintain natural ecological processes, sustain air and water resources, and contribute to the health and quality of life for America’s communities and people” (Benedict, Mark & MacMahon, Edward). Green infrastructure is made up of hubs and links that provide services to native species as well as humans. The hubs are areas that are for natural ecological processes to occur in as well as habitats for native species. The links make the green infrastructure system functional by connecting the hubs to one another (Benedict, Mark & MacMahon, Edward). Green infrastructure provides services for people and wildlife by cleaning the air and water among other services (Lisa Benton-Short, Melissa Keeley & Jennifer Rowland, 2019). These services can be provided in natural areas as well as through sustainable technologies implemented in urban areas. It is the sustainable management of things such as storm water treatment and can encompass technologies like green roofs, rain gardens, and permeable pavements (Lisa Benton-Short, Melissa Keeley & Jennifer Rowland, 2019).

Origins of Green Infrastructure The idea of connecting parks and natural areas for the benefit of the people as well as the habitats and biodiversity has been around for over 100 years. In 1903, an American architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, believed parks needed to be linked together for the benefit of the people. This started a movement in which, in 1999, the President’s Council on Sustainable Development recognized green infrastructure as an effective way for communities to develop sustainably (Benedict, Mark & MacMahon, Edward). The idea of green infrastructure has recently continued to increase in popularity as people begin to see the need to protect natural spaces and bring the services nature provides into more urban areas.

Green Infrastructure in the United States of America In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), manages and governs green infrastructure. The EPA actively encourages the implementation of green infrastructure to assist with water management. In promoting green infrastructure, they provide resources to local governments with step-by-step guides of improving and putting in to practice new technologies for sustainable development (Policy guides, 2020). The EPA works to inform the public about the benefits of green infrastructure as well as provides the necessary resources for local governments to take action. Local governments play a large role in the implementation and governing of green infrastructure in their community. The United Nations Environmental Programme states that “Local authorities construct, operate and maintain economic, social, and environmental infrastructure, oversee planning processes, establish local environmental policies and regulations, and assist in implementing national and subnational environmental policies” (Elise Harrington, David Hsu, 2018). They are very effective in implementing and regulating green infrastructure because they have the capability to allocate resources such as funding and human capital to other organizations that are working from within the community. Local governments and government entities are largely effective and necessary in improving or implementing green infrastructure (Elise Harrington, David Hsu, 2018). Policies set in place by the government create a call to action for local organizations to find a way to improve the community through green infrastructure. For example, the Clean Water Act, a policy put in place for regulating pollutants that enter into waters, was a call to action for communities to implement a new system of filtering or some sort of green infrastructure (Summary of the clean Water Act, 2020). The partnerships between government and nongovernmental organizations allows for a more holistic approach to green infrastructure governance. Governmental and nongovernmental entities also have the power to monitor, measure, and enhance the compliance with the policies set (Elise Harrington, David Hsu, 2018). The regulation done by both governmental and nongovernmental organizations is a key motive for the implementation of green infrastructure in many communities (Elise Harrington, David Hsu, 2018). In the partnership between governmental and nongovernmental organizations, an adaptive management method is taken, in which decisions and policies are made over time in order to reduce uncertainty (Elise Harrington, David Hsu, 2018). These partnerships within the community help to drive, coordinate, and build the necessary capacity for the improvement of green infrastructure.

Resources Benedict, Mark & MacMahon, Edward. (2002). Green Infrastructure: Smart Conservation for the 21st Century.

Elise Harrington, David Hsu, (2018) Roles for government and other sectors in the governance of green infrastructure in the U.S., Environmental Science & Policy,Volume 88, 1462-9011, DOI: 2018.06.003.

Lisa Benton-Short, Melissa Keeley & Jennifer Rowland (2019) Green infrastructure, green space, and sustainable urbanism: geography’s important role, Urban Geography, 40:3, 330-351, DOI: 10.1080/02723638.2017.1360105

Policy guides. (2020, November 02). Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/policy-guides#Municipal%20Handbook Summary of the clean Water Act. (2020, September 09). Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act