Assessment of the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Interventions to Enhance the Ecosystem Services in Developing Countries

Cities face complex challenges, including climate change, population growth, urbanization, natural hazards, pollution, biodiversity degradation, and inadequate public services. Hydro-meteorological hazards such as floods, landslides, droughts, and heat waves are among the most significant risks, wit...

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Main Authors: Diego Paredes Méndez, Modesto Pérez-Sánchez, Francisco Javier Sánchez-Romero, Oscar E. Coronado-Hernández
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Urban Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/9/3/85
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author Diego Paredes Méndez
Modesto Pérez-Sánchez
Francisco Javier Sánchez-Romero
Oscar E. Coronado-Hernández
author_facet Diego Paredes Méndez
Modesto Pérez-Sánchez
Francisco Javier Sánchez-Romero
Oscar E. Coronado-Hernández
author_sort Diego Paredes Méndez
collection DOAJ
description Cities face complex challenges, including climate change, population growth, urbanization, natural hazards, pollution, biodiversity degradation, and inadequate public services. Hydro-meteorological hazards such as floods, landslides, droughts, and heat waves are among the most significant risks, with floods often causing severe impacts and loss of life. Traditional responses, typically hard engineering infrastructures, dominate mitigation efforts. However, green infrastructures (GIs) offer sustainable, cost-effective solutions with added benefits, enhancing ecosystem services and societal well-being. Despite their effectiveness, GI implementation is slow, particularly in developing countries, due to the complex construction, operation, and maintenance processes, alongside knowledge gaps. This study proposes an assessment framework to evaluate GI performance in mitigating hydro-meteorological hazards. By integrating hydrologic–hydraulic modeling, the framework analyzes baseline and post-intervention conditions, offering valuable insights into hazard reduction and cost-effectiveness. Key indicators for assessing GIs include runoff volume reduction, peak flow reduction, flood node mitigation, and increased time to peak flow. Studies show that GIs can achieve reductions of 30–90%. This framework aims to advance the adoption of GIs by providing practical tools to assess and monitor its performance in hazard management.
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issn 2413-8851
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publishDate 2025-03-01
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spelling doaj-art-9f92793a477e4d4eb08c74f1d4733d2c2025-08-20T02:43:04ZengMDPI AGUrban Science2413-88512025-03-01938510.3390/urbansci9030085Assessment of the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Interventions to Enhance the Ecosystem Services in Developing CountriesDiego Paredes Méndez0Modesto Pérez-Sánchez1Francisco Javier Sánchez-Romero2Oscar E. Coronado-Hernández3Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, SpainHydraulic and Environmental Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, SpainRural and Agrifood Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, SpainInstituto de Hidráulica y Saneamiento Ambiental, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena de Indias 130001, ColombiaCities face complex challenges, including climate change, population growth, urbanization, natural hazards, pollution, biodiversity degradation, and inadequate public services. Hydro-meteorological hazards such as floods, landslides, droughts, and heat waves are among the most significant risks, with floods often causing severe impacts and loss of life. Traditional responses, typically hard engineering infrastructures, dominate mitigation efforts. However, green infrastructures (GIs) offer sustainable, cost-effective solutions with added benefits, enhancing ecosystem services and societal well-being. Despite their effectiveness, GI implementation is slow, particularly in developing countries, due to the complex construction, operation, and maintenance processes, alongside knowledge gaps. This study proposes an assessment framework to evaluate GI performance in mitigating hydro-meteorological hazards. By integrating hydrologic–hydraulic modeling, the framework analyzes baseline and post-intervention conditions, offering valuable insights into hazard reduction and cost-effectiveness. Key indicators for assessing GIs include runoff volume reduction, peak flow reduction, flood node mitigation, and increased time to peak flow. Studies show that GIs can achieve reductions of 30–90%. This framework aims to advance the adoption of GIs by providing practical tools to assess and monitor its performance in hazard management.https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/9/3/85green infrastructureassessment frameworkkey indicatorsbarriershydro-meteorological hazardsfloods
spellingShingle Diego Paredes Méndez
Modesto Pérez-Sánchez
Francisco Javier Sánchez-Romero
Oscar E. Coronado-Hernández
Assessment of the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Interventions to Enhance the Ecosystem Services in Developing Countries
Urban Science
green infrastructure
assessment framework
key indicators
barriers
hydro-meteorological hazards
floods
title Assessment of the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Interventions to Enhance the Ecosystem Services in Developing Countries
title_full Assessment of the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Interventions to Enhance the Ecosystem Services in Developing Countries
title_fullStr Assessment of the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Interventions to Enhance the Ecosystem Services in Developing Countries
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Interventions to Enhance the Ecosystem Services in Developing Countries
title_short Assessment of the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Interventions to Enhance the Ecosystem Services in Developing Countries
title_sort assessment of the effectiveness of green infrastructure interventions to enhance the ecosystem services in developing countries
topic green infrastructure
assessment framework
key indicators
barriers
hydro-meteorological hazards
floods
url https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/9/3/85
work_keys_str_mv AT diegoparedesmendez assessmentoftheeffectivenessofgreeninfrastructureinterventionstoenhancetheecosystemservicesindevelopingcountries
AT modestoperezsanchez assessmentoftheeffectivenessofgreeninfrastructureinterventionstoenhancetheecosystemservicesindevelopingcountries
AT franciscojaviersanchezromero assessmentoftheeffectivenessofgreeninfrastructureinterventionstoenhancetheecosystemservicesindevelopingcountries
AT oscarecoronadohernandez assessmentoftheeffectivenessofgreeninfrastructureinterventionstoenhancetheecosystemservicesindevelopingcountries