Part of the Nature Smart Cities project is a research study across the partner cities. The research looks at several different aspects of green infrastructure (GI), from the idea stage through to project approval.  Phil Back, of Imperial College London, completed a series of 53 face-to-face interviews with local authority officers and elected representatives in February 2020. His report is now circulating as a draft document, expected to be published shortly.

The report identifies twenty key findings, one of which examines the obstacles that hinder progress on green infrastructure projects.  Surprisingly, the biggest obstacle is not funding (that comes second), but conflicting priorities within the local authority itself. There are also significant challenges in convincing developers to take a green approach, and in proving the value of green as a viable, cost-effective alternative to more traditional, and more confidently costed, grey approaches. Other potential difficulties such as public opinion, or partnership with external bodies, emerge as much less problematic.

There are variations by city, however. The Hague indicates additional strong challenges in relation to awareness of green infrastructure, and in partnership with other city departments, alongside the problems already mentioned. The pilot project here hopefully helps to demonstrate the benefits of green infrastructure both inside the municipal organisation and to citizens. 

In Bruges, funding is not seen as an obstacle, but the challenges posed by conflicting priorities and developers are greater. Public scepticism is also an issue, albeit one that can generally be addressed successfully - which is why they put much effort in involving all stakeholders in the opening up of the Kerkebeek. 

Commenting on these findings, Phil says ‘Conflicting priorities within a local authority arise as an obstacle where large infrastructure projects such as housing or highways projects become isolated from green infrastructure ideas early on in the process.  Where the priority is to build as much housing as possible, or to protect and enhance the use of motor vehicles, GI can easily become an afterthought. To overcome this challenge, green thinking needs to become more central to, and more embedded in, local authority processes.’