A method of monetary valuation and comparison of costs and benefits of green and blue infrastructure.
Green and blue infrastructure provides a variety of benefits in the form of ecosystem services for residents, workers and city visitors. At the same time green and blue infrastructure effectively deals with and prevents more and more frequent phenomena related to climate change such as intensive rainfall, drought or heat waves. Economic assessment is a tool that contributes to spreading knowledge about the benefits of green and blue infrastructure and at the same time represents an economic argument confirming its usefulness, which supports decisions about its implementation. For this purpose, the methodology for economic assessment of green and blue infrastructure in human settlements was developed by the IEEP team. The certified methodology includes a transparent procedure based on an analysis of costs and benefits of individual measures including examples of economic assessment in practice.
The certified methodology can be used at the government level or by local administrations as well as by interest groups and residents. Outputs of the methodology and valuations of green and blue infrastructure elements can be useful when planning new public areas (e.g., squares, parks, playgrounds, streets, etc.) or when deciding about utilization of areas and construction of specific elements (e.g., green roofs and walls, communal gardens, etc.).
Reference: Macháč, J., Dubová, L., Louda, J., Hekrle, M., Zaňková, L. et Brabec, J. (2019). Methodology for Economic Assessment of Green and Blue Infrastructure in Human Settlements. Ústí nad Labem: Institute for Economic and Environmental Policy (IEEP).
Download: ↓ Methodology for Economic Assessment of Green and Blue Infrastructure in Human Settlements (pdf.)