Environmental policy narratives and urban green infrastructure: Reflections from five major cities in South Africa and the UK

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Environmental policy narratives and urban green infrastructure: Reflections from five major cities in South Africa and the UK

Washbourne, C-L; (2022) Environmental policy narratives and urban green infrastructure: Reflections from five major cities in South Africa and the UK. Environmental Science & Policy , 129 pp. 96-106. 10.1016/j.envsci.2021.12.016. Green open access

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Abstract

In the context of large and growing urban populations, there is a pressing need to understand how the urban environment can be sustainably planned, developed and maintained for greatest benefit to people and nature. The use of ‘green infrastructure’, as a framing approach for integrating urban green space into urban decision-making claims significant international impact. This paper describes key urban environmental policy narratives of five different urban areas (Cape Town, Durban (eThekwini) and Johannesburg in South Africa and Birmingham and London in the UK) reflecting on the way that they have brought green infrastructure concepts into their decision-making. This multi-method study includes analysis of academic papers, technical reports and policy documents and semi-structured interviews with academics, practitioners (planners, engineers, environmental consultants), policy-makers and local community actors. This work has highlighted significant differences in the explicit use of urban green infrastructure as a framing within environmental policy, shaped by the mix of biophysical, social and economic factors that dominate the policy priorities of each city. It adds to a growing evidence base from research and practice aimed at supporting effective urban environmental policymaking.

Type:	Article
Title:	Environmental policy narratives and urban green infrastructure: Reflections from five major cities in South Africa and the UK
Open access status:	An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI:	10.1016/j.envsci.2021.12.016
Publisher version:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.12.016
Language:	English
Additional information:	This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
Keywords:	Sustainable urbanization; Urban ecosystem services; Green infrastructure; Knowledge systems; Decision-making
UCL classification:	UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > STEaPP
URI:	https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10141090