City greening by rain gardens - costs and benefits
Oslo, 17.07.2018
With Ewelina Siwiec of Institute of Environmental Protection in Poland, Vista researchers Anne Erlandsen and Haakon Vennemo have published a paper on costs and benefits of creating rain gardens in urban areas. The paper, which appears in the journal Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, is based on the joint IEP-Vista project on climate adaptation in Poland that was conducted in 2017.
From the introduction: In urban areas, the most pressing adaptation challenges are associated with the problem of poor retention of rainstorm water. Hence, recommended actions focus on improving rainwater retention in the landscape. The article attempts to show the costs and benefits of one of the solutions – a green garden. When analysing the cost of green garden implementation, account should be taken of the cost of investment and upholding, as well as the alternative cost of land use. Then again, the benefits of the rain garden comprise the losses avoided by limiting the effects of rainstorm as well as improving the quality and quantity of water in the urban landscape. The cost and benefit monetization makes it possible to decide on the financial viability of implementing rain gardens in the city. The paper is available here.