Federal Funding For Green Solutions Is On The Way – Mapping Infrastructure Is Key

The prospect of green cities is becoming a real prospect in the USA with the latest round of federal interest. Elizabeth Warren has proposed a ‘Build Green’ act which, according to StreetsBlog USA, will provide $500 billion of funding for green transit projects – and, in the process, completely change the face of urban infrastructure in American cities. This money will be made available to city planners, primarily, but, as with all infrastructure initiatives, private enterprise will have a big role to play.

This is valuable money at a time when the role of green infrastructure is still under debate, despite the science being settled. As such, it’s important to make the best use of it, and to enable that, mapping out infrastructure is crucial. Whilst similar to mapping out any other infrastructure project, there are certain key responsibilities that contribute to making it fit for a green future.

Building from the bottom

The most immediate benefits of green infrastructure will be seen in the day-to-day benefits that these projects offer to residents of the city concerned. This is the focus of the federal government; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has produced a series of principles on how to get started with a green infrastructure mapping project, and their focus lands on where risk areas are. Risks in this case are defined as exposure to flooding, extreme weather events, and wind related danger, and how those are heightened as climate change increases in terms of its impacts.

A key part of building this risk assessment framework comes from data gathering and surveyance. Identifying key risk areas and establishing survey points throughout those areas will build the necessary data points to start assessing risk properly, and ensuring that underlying research matches the actual reported risk in those areas. Data gathering is key, especially with the need to be efficient with funding; arguments must be constructed over where to focus effort.

Mapping together initiatives

With a picture built of risk areas and where effort needs to be focused, it’s then a good idea to look at what initiatives have already been established. There’s a huge amount of good work underway already from private enterprise and community schemes that can both provide the basis for future development and inform current arguments. Take, for instance, New York City. Their civil authority tracks green infrastructure projects across the city, creating an excellent basis to work from.

This once again leans into data gathering. Mapping out infrastructure projects and noting the data that can be provided by existing schemes will contribute to more well-rounded data sets with a diverse nature. This is important for green infrastructure, and the dual purpose of providing climate change resilience, and reducing carbon footprint. The way that climate change impacts communities is not always readily identifiable through research alone; engaging with these individual schemes and seeing what they have found effective is valuable. 

Building the project

Building data and sourcing experiences from a wide range of perspectives produces the foundation on which proper mapping can take place. With that in hand, it is the responsibility of planners to use the information they have gathered in conjunction with the best tools at hand. The classic stable of project management principles and tools, from GIS for mapping through to Agile for project planning, are a great start, but there are bespoke tools within the green infrastructure planning world to put to use.

A look at state authorities and what they are deploying can be helpful. In Maryland, the Department of Natural Resources have created the Green Infrastructure Assessment framework and GreenPrint Map. Overseas, Natural England has produced a Green Infrastructure Map that provides fine detail over the nature of individual projects. For example, planners can pick between green and blue infrastructure assets, and look at initiatives that have met specific regulatory standards or have accessed government funding. 

By looking through these tools, and comparing it with the data and surveyance tools installed ahead of starting the project, planners can effectively build a picture of how to most efficiently execute their green infrastructure project. A data and risk led approach is essential.