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"Nature-based solutions", such as green stormwater infrastructure, take advantage of natural systems to tackle the increasing challenges facing the built environment. Green infrastructure is effective in reducing stormwater runoff for urban stormwater management using connected green space. Green infrastructure also delivers multiple benefits to the community (e.g., increased quality of life and public health) and environment (e.g., enhanced biodiversity, less energy use, and reduced urban heat island effect), which is adaptive to the changing climate. However, the pace and the scale of green infrastructure implementation are still not on track with the much-needed change in the urban built environment. Policy barriers, resources barriers, governance barriers, and cognitive barriers are limiting the practice. Cognitive barriers are cited as the most critical barrier because most of the barriers limiting green infrastructure stem from and are intensified by human cognition during the design and decision-making process for infrastructure. Stakeholders involved in the decision-making process for green infrastructure must weigh the perceived risks and benefits that green infrastructure provides. This dissertation aims to better understand how stakeholders perceive green infrastructure, how much they weigh risks and benefits, and test interventions to aid the decision-making process to promote more green infrastructure design. Both a stated preference survey with discrete choice modeling and two sets of experiments using neuroimaging to measure the change in neurocognition were used to explore preference construction and decision-making about green infrastructure. A sample of the public (N=946) across the U.S. participated in the survey and reported their perceptions of risk and benefit about green infrastructure. The result highlights that perceived higher risk of green infrastructure reduced people's preference for green infrastructure. In contrast, perceived higher benefit, age, education, and the use of a rating system to measure sustainability outcomes firstly contribute to people's preference construction for green infrastructure. Engineering students who were trained in stormwater infrastructure design (N=60) participated in a stormwater infrastructure design scenario. Change in students' neurocognition was measured when students made judgments and decisions between a green infrastructure design option and a conventional stormwater infrastructure design option. Two interventions, (1) telling students about a municipal resolution in support of green infrastructure and (2) priming students to think about sustainable design before evaluating design options, were tested to change perceptions about risk and benefit of stormwater design options. The results found that telling decision-makers about a green infrastructure resolution changed their neurocognition when processing perceived risk and reduced the perceived risk they associated with green infrastructure. The results also found that priming decision-makers to think about sustainable design with a rating system for sustainability significantly decreased their cognitive load when evaluating the benefits of green infrastructure and increased their stated benefits associated with green infrastructure. These findings demonstrate the effects of relatively simple choice modifications to promote more green infrastructure. The results provide insights for policy-makers, engineers, and other stakeholders involved in the early-phase decisions on effective practice to modify human choice when facing challenges with sustainable and resilient design. / Doctor of Philosophy / Green stormwater infrastructure uses connected green space to absorb and filter excessive stormwater runoff in the environment where humans live. Green infrastructure also brings multiple benefits, such as increased quality of life and public health, habitats to more creatures, and less energy use. However, the pace and the scale of green infrastructure implementation are still limited. Barriers in policy, resources, governance, and human cognition are preventing the implementation of green infrastructure. Cognitive barriers are believed to be the most critical barrier because they intensify all other barriers during the design and decision-making process for infrastructure. Stakeholders involved in the decision-making process for green infrastructure must weigh the perceived risks and benefits that green infrastructure provides. This dissertation aims to better understand how stakeholders perceive green infrastructure, how much they weigh risks and benefits, and test interventions to aid the decision-making process to promote more green infrastructure design. Both a survey with choice modeling and experiments using neuroimaging to measure the change in brain activity were used to explore preference construction and decision-making about green infrastructure. 946 people across the U.S. participated in the survey and reported their perceptions of risk and benefit about green infrastructure. The result highlights that perceived higher risk of green infrastructure reduced people's preference for green infrastructure. In contrast, perceived higher benefit, age, education, and the use of a rating system to measure sustainability outcomes positively contribute to their preference construction for green infrastructure. 60 Engineering students who were trained in stormwater infrastructure design participated in a stormwater infrastructure design scenario. Change in students' brain activity was measured when they made judgments and decisions between a green infrastructure design option and a conventional stormwater infrastructure design option. Two interventions, (1) telling students about a municipal resolution in support of green infrastructure and (2) priming students to think about the sustainable design before evaluating design options, were tested to change perceptions about the risk and benefit of stormwater design options. The results found that telling decision-makers about a green infrastructure resolution changed their brain activity when evaluating risk and reduced the perceived risk they associated with green infrastructure. The results also found that priming decision-makers to think about sustainable design with a rating system for sustainability significantly decreased their cognitive efforts when evaluating the benefits of green infrastructure and increased their stated benefits associated with green infrastructure. These findings demonstrate such relatively simple choice modifications are effective to promote more green infrastructure. Stakeholders who are involved in the early-phase decisions can take advantage of the findings about the effective practice to modify human choice when facing sustainable design challenges.

Building on existing theories of diffusion of innovation and technology acceptance, the object of this study is to investigate how municipal officials' perceptions of key attributes of green infrastructure influence their attitudes toward adoption. In addition, this dissertation provide useful insights into the relationship between the diversity of green infrastructure tools that local jurisdictions across the US support with policies or programs, and the factors influencing adoption. A key feature of this study is a nationwide survey conducted among US city stormwater managers, planners and other public officials, whose responses were combined with secondary data and analyzed using multiple regression techniques. Findings indicate that municipal officials' perceptions of relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and perceived resources are significant predictor of favorable disposition toward adoption, while perceived risk has a negative influence on attitudes. In addition, the level of environmental awareness and support has the greatest impact on the number of green infrastructure strategies jurisdictions have adopted. Based on the analysis in this study, proponents of green stormwater infrastructure will be better prepared to promote diffusion of these strategies at the local level. / Ph. D.

An urban tree canopy assessment (UTCA) is a new technology that can inform management decisions to optimize the economic, social and environmental benefits provided by urban forests. A UTCA uses remote sensing to create a comprehensive spatial snapshot of a locality's land cover, classified at a very fine scale (1 meter or less). Over the past decade, UTCAs have been conducted for numerous localities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW) as part of a strategy to enhance urban tree canopy (UTC) and reduce stormwater runoff that pollutes the Chesapeake Bay. Our research examined how local governments employ these UTCAs and identified barriers to and drivers of UTCA use for urban forest planning and management. We conducted a web-based survey of all localities in the CBW with populations over 2,500 for which a UTCA existed as of May 2013. We found that 33% of respondents reported being unaware that a UTCA existed for their locality. Even so, survey results showed that localities aware of their UTCA were using it to establish UTC goals, create and implement strategies to achieve those goals, and monitoring progress towards UTC goals. Survey localities were segmented based on how they reported using their UTCA to provide insight on possible outreach and technical assistance strategies that might improve future UTCA use. Overall, we found that larger localities with more developed urban forestry programs use their UTCA more frequently. However, we found several exceptions, suggesting that UTCAs could be an important catalyst for expanding municipal urban forestry programs. / Master of Science

Urbanization can negatively affect the capacity of ecosystems to provide services that support human life. Edible green infrastructure (EGI) can increase cultural and environmental services in urban and peri-urban communities. Instrumental in the use of EGI are local governments, who are in a position to pass supportive policies. For this research, we completed a qualitative study of EGI policy processes in U.S. cities and a mixed-methods study of EGI challenges and opportunities in small towns. Our first objective was to understand how and why EGI policy develops. We interviewed twelve policy actors from six U.S. cities that have formalized EGI ordinances. Major drivers of EGI policy were: 1) improving public health; 2) securing land tenure; 3) managing vacant lands; 4) accommodating for population growth; and 5) the local food movement. Common policymaking steps included: 1) local communities initiate EGI policy process; 2) city governments respond by working with communities to draft EGI ordinances; 3) abrupt changes to land use policies result in a policy image supportive of EGI as a public land management strategy; and 4) during emergence of the new land use paradigm, incremental changes reinforce this image. We also learned how certain challenges and policy actor recommendations for minimizing obstacles affect the policy process. Our second objective was to understand EGI adoption in small towns. We surveyed 68 mayors of small towns (<25,000) in Virginia to study local leader perspectives regarding implementation and policy. The greatest perceived barrier to EGI adoption was long-term maintenance, whereas opportunities included civic benefits such as education and community-building. Most towns had not intentionally used EGI on public land, nor did they have compatible land use codes. Open-ended responses suggest that mayors have different views about the role policy should play in EGI adoption. We used mayoral perceptions about the constituent support for public green space, the implementation of edible woody perennial species, and available public space for EGI to group towns into unique types. Four groups were identified in a K-means cluster analysis: 1) Ambivalent and Resource-Poor; 2) Optimistic and Capable; 3) Doubtful and Unsupported; and 4) Unsure with Potential. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD post-hoc analysis (α=0.05) showed that Optimistic and Capable were significantly more likely than Doubtful and Unsupported to intend to plant EGI and benefit from government support for edible, woody perennials on public land. EGI may be more practical for towns with greater backing for public green space, more available land, and higher rates of favorable attitudes. / Master of Science / The global movement of people from rural to urban and suburban areas has impacted ecosystem health and human well-being. A land management strategy that can improve environmental and public health is edible green infrastructure (EGI), which is small-scale food production in and around built structures. Local governments can pass policies that increase the use of EGI in public spaces. To learn more about how local governments view EGI and the role that policy might play, we completed two studies. In our first study, we interviewed 12 people from 6 U.S. cities who were involved in the development of EGI policies. The purpose of this study was to learn how and why cities pass EGI policies. Reasons for policy adoption included: 1) improving public health for their residents; 2) ensuring EGI as a permanent rather than temporary land use; 3) finding a better use for vacant properties; 4) setting aside green space for current and future populations; and 5) increasing local and healthy food access. Cities shared the following policy development steps: 1) local community leaders demonstrated that EGI policy was needed; 2) government leaders worked together with residents to draft an EGI ordinance; 3) ordinances were passed that significantly changed how public land could be used; and 4) they passed other, smaller policies to make the use of EGI easier for residents. In our second study, we surveyed 68 mayors of small towns (< 25,000 people) in Virginia, U.S. The purpose of this study was to learn what local leaders think about the use of EGI in the public spaces and whether EGI policies would be useful. Long-term maintenance was the biggest barrier and the greatest opportunities included education, recreation, social gathering, and community building. Mayors had differing opinions on whether policies pertaining to EGI on public land were a good idea for their towns, and several pointed out that residents already had access to private land for food production. Using mayors' responses, we grouped towns based on the following characteristics: 1) how much public land could be used for food production; 2) how supportive residents were of existing green space; and 3) how residents thought about the use of EGI on public land. We found that small towns in Virginia could be described as; 1) Ambivalent and Resource-Poor; 2) Optimistic and Capable; 3) Doubtful and Unsupported; or 4) Unsure with Potential. "Optimistic and Capable" towns were more likely to be supported by municipal policies and budgets and to use EGI for managing public land, whereas "Doubtful and Unsupported" towns were least likely to be supported by local government and to use EGI. In summary, EGI may be more practical for towns with greater backing for public green space, more available land, and more favorable views on food production on public land.

Rapid urbanization of cities includes common characteristics of high-density populations and large number of impervious surfaces. The high percentages of impervious surfaces like rooftops, roads and parking lots in dense cities would block the natural hydrological infiltration process and increasing flooding threats. The goal of this study is finding solutions for meeting the nonpotable water use demand by applying water harvesting while also creating open green spaces for residents in urban communities. The design thesis explored the level of benefits that can be achieved by harvesting water from impervious surfaces like rooftops to fulfill the need for water consumption, purification and green open spaces for social activities in residential high-rise condominiums (multi-family residences) in Wuhan, China. The study has compared hydrological and social benefits from 3 different design scenarios in the selected urban community: 1) the existing site design with underground parking, 2) a new design without underground parking which expands water harvesting options, and 3) a new design with underground parking which limits the application of some BMPs (Best Management Practices). This study used open space design and water harvesting as a strategy to meet 94% of non-potable water consumption by harvesting water from residential rooftops as well as to decrease and purify surface runoff to reduce the flooding threat from ground surfaces in the selected community. The proposed open space design also achieved social benefits of providing places for social interactions, supporting various recreational activities, educating children about environmental issues while having in outdoor activities, experiencing nature and keeping or improving the physical and mental well-being of people in the selected urban community. / Master of Landscape Architecture / Dense cities have the characteristics of having high-density impervious surfaces roads, bridges, rooftops as well as a large amount of population. Since a large amount of increasing population in dense cities would result in high demands for water consumption, the water shortage problem, as a global issue, has challenged the distribution of water resources in dense cities. The massive number of impervious surfaces, as a result of rapid urbanization, have blocked the process of hydrological circulation by making natural infiltration impossible. Therefore, many dense cities are facing the challenges of waterlogging or flooding threat and the decreasing amount of water resources. This study focuses on using open space design and water harvesting as a strategy to relieve the stress of limited water resources and waterlogging or flooding threat in dense cities. This thesis has chosen an urban community in Wuhan, China for making open space design and bring the hydrologic and social benefits to the selected urban community by combing the practices of water treatment into the design. The new open design in the selected community not only has the hydrological benefits of decreasing and purifying surface runoff to reduce flooding threat, but also has many social benefits such as providing places for social interactions, supporting various of recreational activities, educating children about environmental issues while participating in outdoor activities, experience nature and keeping or improving the physical and mental well-being of people.

The Hampton Roads region of southeast Virginia is largely defined by its abundant water resources. These water resources are also a source of unique issues for the region. Specifically, water quality challenges related to the Chesapeake Bay and recurrent flooding are the major concerns. Green infrastructure (GI) has emerged in recent years as an alternative to traditional stormwater conveyance and detention focused systems. GI practices focus on integrating infiltration, evapotranspiration, and other components of the water cycle into more conventional stormwater management systems. These systems provide several positive benefits, including local water quality and quantity control, community revitalization, and various public health benefits. In addition, GI implementation has seen strong levels of support from the Cooperative Extension System, with Extension faculty and staff around the U.S. supporting local municipalities through GI research, promotion, and program development. Despite widespread interest, GI has been slow to be adopted due to various barriers to its implementation. This study sought to identify the major barriers to the implementation of GI practices in Hampton Roads by conducting a needs assessment. Municipal stormwater staff were invited to participate in an online survey aimed at identifying the most significant barriers in the region. At the same time, local staff with Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) were interviewed to explore their potential to become involved in promoting GI adoption in Hampton Roads. Survey respondents and interview participants found common ground in identifying costs, funding, and maintenance issues as the most significant barriers to GI implementation in Hampton Roads. In addition, VCE staff were found to be well suited to support widespread GI adoption in the region, having familiarity with the GI concept and access to unique resources in the form of knowledgeable Master Gardener volunteers and connections to Virginia Tech. Recommendations for VCE involvement in promoting GI in Hampton Roads include conducting cost studies, developing and hosting maintenance training programs, and taking advantage of partnerships to identify and obtain funding from diverse sources. By focusing on these widely acknowledged challenges at the regional scale, VCE can support GI implementation throughout all of Hampton Roads. / Master of Science / Hampton Roads is a region with a history and economy tied to its local waters. Today, the region is facing significant challenges related to these waters, including frequent flooding impacts on residents and pollution control needs for the nearby Chesapeake Bay. Green infrastructure (GI), a relatively new approach to managing water in cities, could help local governments address these challenges. Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), an organization formed through a partnership between federal and local governments and land grant universities in Virginia, seeks to meet community needs through community outreach and educational programs. As a community-centered organization with a history of advancing environmental education, VCE may also be an important partner for municipalities in Hampton Roads interested in adopting GI practices. To identify the barriers to GI in Hampton Roads and the potential role of VCE in addressing them, a needs assessment of municipalities in the region with stormwater permits was conducted. Based collected documents, surveys of municipal staff, and interviews with VCE personnel, three major barriers to GI adoption were identified. Permitted municipalities in Hampton Roads are uncertain of GI costs, have limited funds to support GI practices, and lack the knowledge and resources needed to maintain GI practices over time. VCE can help municipalities address these challenges using its many resources. Through its connection to Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, VCE can help in developing cost research studies for Hampton Roads. As an educational organization, VCE can also help municipalities win funding for GI projects that they would otherwise not have access to. Finally, local Virginia Tech faculty at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center and experienced Master Gardener volunteers can work to develop GI maintenance training resources for maintenance staff throughout the region. With its strong background, expert knowledge, and existing connections in the region, VCE can play an important role in addressing the GI adoption challenges in Hampton Roads.

The inner-ring suburbs of major metropolitan areas such as Washington, DC are either being redeveloped already or are poised to be redeveloped over the next several decades. The engineered 'gray' infrastructure networks in these areas, largely put in place between 100 and 75 years ago, are aging and reaching the end of their useful life. New developments are being funded by real estate investment trusts and developers and are being welcomed by municipalities and a public that are often genuinely inspired to create the more livable places of the future. Such redevelopments provide a unique opportunity not to just import new 'green' features, but to reimagine the fundamental connections between ecological, human, and non-human systems within the fabric of the larger community in a way that profoundly improves the cognitive experience of a place for the people and wildlife that reside there. The project begins by recognizing this opportunity and posing a question. Through thoughtful design, how can we bring people back into balance with their environment and back into touch with each other? By working with the cultural and built fabric of a place, the project proposes to reintroduce ecological systems and create places that might not be a perfect clean slate but are somehow just right for the people that live there. The project proceeds first by developing an understanding of the overall ecological context for each of four primary development corridors in Virginia, west of Washington, D.C. across the Potomac River. Then, key intersections between stream systems and the development corridors are identified and assessed to determine (a) whether any existing landscape framework surrounding the stream feature is in place and (b) whether the amenities necessary to support a walkable Urban Village center are present within a half mile in each direction along the route. The project proposes a design for revealing a continuous flow stream channel currently piped underground and creating integrated stormwater detention basins along the historic stream channel path at the headwaters of Spout Run in northern Arlington County Virginia. Stormwater mains downstream from the headwaters have already been deemed below capacity for the unprecedentedly intense storms that have become an annual occurrence. Here, the major transportation and development corridor, Route 29 (Lee Highway), just across the Potomac River west of Washington D.C, crosses Glebe Road and a unique geological formation, dubbed for this thesis as the 'Headwaters Plateau'. It is an intersection between historically significant transportation routes as well as a unique intersection between landscape and the built environment. Around the Headwaters Plateau, not just Spout Run but the waters of four other streams begin their path to the Potomac River, flowing through numerous Arlington County neighborhoods along the way. As redevelopment plans take shape for the Lee Highway corridor through northern Arlington County, this thesis proposes the unique intersection between the Headwaters Plateau at Spout Run Gap along Route 29 as the site for the core of a modern Urban Village, with the Plateau and the Spout Run Headwaters Channel as the landscape framework around which the redeveloping Village should be built. / Master of Landscape Architecture / This thesis proposes a design for revealing a continuous flow stream channel currently piped underground and creating integrated stormwater detention basins along the historic stream channel path at the headwaters of Spout Run in northern Arlington County, Virginia. Stormwater mains downstream from the headwaters have already been deemed below capacity for the unprecedentedly intense storms that have become an annual occurrence. Here, the major transportation and development corridor, Route 29 (Lee Highway), just across the Potomac River west of Washington D.C, crosses Glebe Road and a unique geological formation, dubbed for the purpose of this thesis as the 'Headwaters Plateau'. It is an intersection between historically significant transportation routes as well as a unique intersection between landscape and the built environment. Around the Headwaters Plateau, not just Spout Run but the waters of four other streams begin their path to the Potomac River, flowing through numerous Arlington County neighborhoods along the way. As redevelopment plans take shape for the Lee Highway corridor through northern Arlington County, this thesis proposes the unique intersection between the Headwaters Plateau at Spout Run Gap along Route 29 as the site for the core of a modern Urban Village, with the Plateau and the Spout Run Headwaters Channel as the landscape framework around which the redeveloping Village should be built. Through design, this thesis is an investigation of the potential integration of ecological systems such as stream hydrology into the design of modern 'Urban Villages' with the intent to create impactful individual experiences that provide a shared sense of connection within the community to its surrounding landscape. Throughout the country, redevelopment plans are focused on creating increased-density 'mixed-use' communities within existing urban and suburban areas - often called Urban Villages in the lexicon of the New Urbanism planning theory. This represents a move away from the predominant approach of separation of land use zoning practices. Such redevelopments provide a unique opportunity to not only import new 'green' features, but to reimagine the fundamental connections between ecological, human, and non-human systems within the fabric of the larger community in a way that profoundly improves the cognitive experience of a place for the people and wildlife that reside there.

Cities around the United States are looking to urban green infrastructure (UGI) as a critical investment to help address a host of urban challenges, including stormwater management, climate change mitigation, rising heat temperatures and increased risk of flooding. As a result, volunteers are being asked to help construct, maintain, and contribute to UGI projects. Current investigations of UGI highlight the need to consider UGI from an environmental justice perspective, emphasizing a three-pronged approach including distribution, recognition, and procedural justice. This dissertation seeks to investigate UGI equity from a labor perspective, specifically how volunteer labor is acknowledged, valued, and contributed among race, class, and gender. Using UGI initiatives in Philadelphia, PA as a case study, it asks; to what extent are urban sustainability initiatives in Philadelphia relying upon the unpaid labor of citizens in the construction of new, UGI? How might this labor exhibit unrecognized forms of social reproductive labor, when observed from an intersectional feminist perspective? How has the contribution of UGI (such as trees, parks) labor changed over time? Drawing from a range of qualitative methods, including ethnographic fieldwork, online surveys, semi-structured interviews, oral histories and archival analysis, results reveal how volunteers play a significant role in the construction and maintenance of UGI over the past hundred years, including the often-invisible contributions of women and women of color. In applying a feminist labor lens, findings suggest gender and racial inequities in how UGI labor is acknowledged and paid as infrastructure work. Future research must consider intersectional labor dimensions as a key component in achieving a more ‘just’ urban green environment for all. / Geography / Geography

Infrastructure and open space planning can be brought together to create a system of multiuse corridors that accommodate multiple types of infrastructure, recreation trails and open space, while protecting natural resources. Some of the potential benefits of this system is more efficient use of fewer utility easements, a more comprehensive open space system that can be paid for by utility users, and less environmental damage from utility placement. A multiuse corridor planning process is described that is meant to be used by a multiple disciplinary team to plan for infrastructure and open space in the context of town, city or region. This process inventories all human infrastructure such as roads, waterlines, and electric and natural infrastructure, such as streams, rivers, forests, wetlands, and geologic features. An assessment is made on what areas are most likely to need infrastructure in the future and a conceptual plan is put together to best serve those needs. A conceptual open space plan is created to serve the needs of future development areas. The infrastructure and the open space plans are woven together using routing guidelines and typical multiuse corridor sections to best design these multiuse corridors. This thesis brings together infrastructure and open space planning at the city and regional level. / Master of Landscape Architecture