Governance factors of sustainable stormwater management: A study of case cities in China and Sweden

TY - JOUR

T1 - Governance factors of sustainable stormwater management

T2 - A study of case cities in China and Sweden

AU - Qiao, Xiu Juan

AU - Liu, Li

AU - Kristoffersson, Anders

AU - Randrup, Thomas B.

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Cities worldwide are increasingly using green infrastructure to mitigate challenges related to stormwater, in an approach regarded as sustainable stormwater management (SSM). Various governance factors have been identified as one of the major barriers to SSM implementation. In this study, we examined specific governance factors influencing local SSM implementation in four case cities in Sweden and China. Based on systems thinking, we first developed a general causal loop diagram (SSM-CLD) illustrating the interrelations between previously identified influencing governance factors in SSM. We then used this general SSM-CLD as a framework to conduct and analyze 23 semi-structured interviews with local government officers in the four case cities. Based on the analysis, we summarized the most frequently mentioned governance factors and created one SSM-CLD for each case city. We then examined the main differences between the local SSM-CLDs and the general SSM-CLD, and the differences between the Chinese and Swedish case cities. The results revealed that, in the two Chinese case cities, the role of national policy in setting local leaders' priorities, the strong organizational set-up, and planning instruments are significant for SSM implementation. In the two Swedish case cities, public awareness, local government politicians’ priorities, and trust in SSM performance are important for SSM implementation. Acquiring funding for long-term maintenance of SSM was identified as a common challenge in all four cities studied. These results provide a better understanding and potential lessons for other cities on how governance factors influence SSM.

AB - Cities worldwide are increasingly using green infrastructure to mitigate challenges related to stormwater, in an approach regarded as sustainable stormwater management (SSM). Various governance factors have been identified as one of the major barriers to SSM implementation. In this study, we examined specific governance factors influencing local SSM implementation in four case cities in Sweden and China. Based on systems thinking, we first developed a general causal loop diagram (SSM-CLD) illustrating the interrelations between previously identified influencing governance factors in SSM. We then used this general SSM-CLD as a framework to conduct and analyze 23 semi-structured interviews with local government officers in the four case cities. Based on the analysis, we summarized the most frequently mentioned governance factors and created one SSM-CLD for each case city. We then examined the main differences between the local SSM-CLDs and the general SSM-CLD, and the differences between the Chinese and Swedish case cities. The results revealed that, in the two Chinese case cities, the role of national policy in setting local leaders' priorities, the strong organizational set-up, and planning instruments are significant for SSM implementation. In the two Swedish case cities, public awareness, local government politicians’ priorities, and trust in SSM performance are important for SSM implementation. Acquiring funding for long-term maintenance of SSM was identified as a common challenge in all four cities studied. These results provide a better understanding and potential lessons for other cities on how governance factors influence SSM.

KW - Case study

KW - Causal loop diagram

KW - Governance structures

KW - Green infrastructure

KW - Sponge city

U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.07.020

DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.07.020

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31362172

AN - SCOPUS:85069652280

SN - 0301-4797

VL - 248

JO - Journal of Environmental Management

JF - Journal of Environmental Management

M1 - 109249

ER -