Effectiveness of Urban Green Infrastructure: Management Challenges in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia
Ying Li, MLWS 2022
The accelerated climate change and the associated more intense and frequent extreme
weather events have caught worldwide attention, and urban environments are significantly more
vulnerable to the problem. Likewise, Metro Vancouver also encounters increased urban heat
island effects, disturbed water balance, degraded ecosystem services, and other stressors from
climate variabilities. In response to the current situation, the city extensively encourages the
operations of green infrastructure initiatives, seeing them as mitigation solutions for future climate
change due to the potential advantages. However, the challenges of incorporating them into
urban landscapes have not been well explored. Also, there is currently a lack of awareness of the
monitoring needs after the construction. Therefore, the project aims to determine the benefits and
challenges of using urban trees and constructed wetlands as green infrastructure initiatives in the
city. Meanwhile, highlight the monitoring requirements for sustaining the efforts.
Based on the systematic literature review, urban trees and constructed wetlands play a key
role in sustainable water management and mitigating the leading factors and impacts of climate
variabilities. However, they are also susceptible to short-term extreme weather events and longterm
climate warming, which may impede their functionalities and lead to adverse environmental
impacts. Consequently, a monitoring program that provides clear guidelines for relevant indicator
assessments and appropriate frequency is necessary for determining the effectiveness of the green
infrastructure performance and providing directions for further management. Beyond that, the
collaboration between different groups, including the public, experts, local government, and nongovernmental
organizations, can improve the efficiencies but can be challenging. In addition to
the monitoring needs, the city should raise concerns about plant susceptibility to climate change
and understand the various trade-offs between broadleaf and coniferous trees, developing a more
resilient species composition in the city. More research on wetland plants and their responses to
heat stress and other climate variabilities is particularly needed.