Which blue-green infrastructure implementation scenarios are best tailored to support public health? (2022-2023)

Blue-green infrastructure (BGI) has originally been implemented to treat and manage stormwater through flood protection and water quality treatment among others. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the potential of BGI to provide multiple societal benefits, such as improved public health and well-being. A case study in Kronandalen in Luleå showed that these categories generated the greatest socio-economic benefits. Similar results have been reported from the UK and the Netherlands, among others. However, previous studies have often compared BGI as a holistic concept with traditional gray infrastructure, without taking into account the variation between different BGI solutions in terms of technology, spatial scale and complexity - something this project intends to investigate in more depth.

The aim of the project is to distinguish between different types of BGI based on their technical solutions, spatial scale and complexity. The project will evaluate and compare the socio-economic benefits of these BGI solutions - especially linked to public health, recreation and well-being - and include effects on water quality and flood risks, which in turn affect health. Unlike previous studies, which treated BGI as a general concept, this study aims to provide more specific knowledge about which solutions contribute most to different societal benefits. The project is complemented by two PhD projects at LTU and SLU, which focus on environmental engineering function and sustainability analysis of the same scenarios. Together, these enable a holistic assessment of BGI implementation.

The project will be carried out in 2-4 urban case studies where different scenarios for possible BGI implementation are developed. The work is done in so-called living labs in collaboration between researchers from LTU, SLU Alnarp, RISE and actors from Malmö city, VA SYD and Östersund municipality. The scenarios will vary along two scales - spatial scale (from decentralized to centralized solutions) and complexity/naturalness - and be evaluated with established tools such as TEEB and B£ST to identify which BGI solutions best promote, for example, public health and recreation.

The project is funded with 455 000 SEK within the framework of PRECISE, a strategic initiative at Luleå University of Technology for groundbreaking interdisciplinary research on precision health at the molecular, individual and societal level, in collaboration between the university and various societal actors.