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Convergence in Perceptions of Ecosystem Services Supports Green Infrastructure Decision-making in a Semi-arid City

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Abstract

Effective management of cities using ecosystem services from green infrastructure (GI) requires explicit consideration of the linkages between provision of services and ecosystem service demands (i.e., governance priorities). Identification of stakeholder knowledge and objectives in GI decision-making contexts with respect to ecosystem services may improve urban planning; yet this information is rarely explicit in local contexts and cases. We address this gap by surveying environmental stakeholders and practitioners to investigate how perceptions of ecosystem services influence GI practice in Tucson, AZ. Results indicate that the semi-arid environment and urban design led to prioritizations that focus on water sustainability and urban heat mitigation. We found strong agreement in environmental perceptions between different management sectors. We observed matches (as well as mismatches) between the ecosystem service priorities and important environmental issues. Ecosystem services prioritization revealed a unique classification of ecosystem services that reflects stakeholder priorities. Our findings suggest the study of ecosystem services supply and demand can inform local urban management. These findings from a semi-arid city further suggest that understanding stakeholder knowledge, perceptions, and priorities should be important for cities in other regions where GI is being implemented as an environmental solution to provide ecosystem services.

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Acknowledgements

We dedicate this paper to the memory of our friend and colleague Dr. Thomas Meixner (1970–2022). Tom was tragically taken from us, but continues to inspire us to think about water in cities, and perhaps more importantly, to not be jerks. This research was funded by an NSF CHN-L grant (#1518376 to MPZ) and a USDA NIFA Hatch project through the Maryland Agricultural Experimentation Station (to MPZ) and Babbitt Dissertation Fellowship from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (to LM). We would like to acknowledge feedback from Andrea Gerlak, Adam Henry, Gary Pivo, and Tom Meixner on research design, and editorial comments from Andrea Gerlak, Marissa Matsler, Paul Leisnham, Amanda Rockler, Adel Shirmohammadi, and Sujay Kaushal.

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  1. University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Leila Mosleh, Masoud Negahban-Azar & Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman

  2. UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Leila Mosleh

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Mosleh, L., Negahban-Azar, M. & Pavao-Zuckerman, M. Convergence in Perceptions of Ecosystem Services Supports Green Infrastructure Decision-making in a Semi-arid City. Environmental Management 71, 885–898 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01738-0

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