Economic Benefits of Low-Impact Development & Green Infrastructure : Case Studies

Cities across the US are using green infrastructure to meet water quality goals and provide more livable communities. In 2011, the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania released a comprehensive Green Infrastructure Plan (GI Plan) articulating a set of goals, opportunities, and recommendations for implementing green infrastructure in Lancaster. While the water quality benefits associated with the Plan were estimated, many of the additional environmental, social, and economic benefits cited in the Plan were not. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate how accounting for the multiple benefits of green infrastructure can provide a more complete assessment of infrastructure and community investments. This book was prepared to help utilities, state and municipal agencies, and other stormwater professionals understand the potential benefits of their low impact development (LID) and green infrastructure (GI) programs. The objectives of this book are to highlight different evaluation methods that have been successfully applied, and also to demonstrate cases where LID/GI has been shown to be economically beneficial.