The public health benefits of green infrastructure: the potential of economic framing for enhanced decision-making

摘要

Cities are growing rapidly resulting in changing land cover and reduced levels of green infrastructure globally. Climate change adaptation is now becoming a critical agenda item for cities. The potential for ecosystem-based climate adaptation using a green infrastructure approach is appealing for many cities but the business case for implementation has to be made more effectively. There is a substantial body of evidence that shows green infrastructure is significantly beneficial for human health and wellbeing and that it has many applications for climate adaptation. Despite this evidence, the linkage between green infrastructure benefits and improved health outcomes remains to be adequately quantified. There are limited studies from the international grey literature that indicate the potential and substantial economic health value of green infrastructure. Moreover, these studies use different methodological frameworks, making it difficult to systematically evaluate and compare the monetary estimates. The explicit lack of peer-reviewed studies specifically evaluating the economic health value of green infrastructure projects highlights the need for such work to be undertaken. Addressing these research gaps would assist to accelerate policy development to drive the implementation of green infrastructure and ecosystem-based climate adaptation outcomes to support sustainable urban development.