Economic valuation of urban green infrastructure. Principles and evidence

Abstract

In urban areas, the elements of the natural environment providing multi-functional ecosystem services are referred to as green infrastructure, into the perspective of leisure, education, health and well-being, reconnection to biodiversity, cultural and heritage landscapes, resilience-building. Numerous tools have been developed to explore multiple benefits of green infrastructure, adapting methodologies and designing new frameworks, especially in the emerging research area of the landscape economy. The contribution focuses on the relevance of the socio-economic values of cultural ecosystem services provided by urban green infrastructure, which are increasingly calling researchers, policy makers and practitioners’ attention from new perspectives, mirroring the needs and claims of the growing population of urban dwellers. The often-conflicting socio-economic implications of the urban green infrastructure are presented, introducing major findings of an extensive repository of international case studies. The conclusions suggest how a better understanding of urban green infrastructure’s economic values would enable decision makers to successfully engage in trade-off analysis, promoting dialogue among stakeholders, ultimately helping them identify strategies for improved governance.