Green Streets to Serve Urban Sustainability: Benefits and Typology

Urbanization and climate change have impacted the ecosystems of the US cities. Impervious surfaces in the urbanized areas are a critical issue for both challenges and green infrastructure can be an alternative solution to achieve urban sustainability. Green infrastructure protects urban ecosystems by reducing imperviousness as treating stormwater runoff and providing other multifaceted benefits. However, even with the great potential, its adoption is still discouraged due to limited understanding and guidance especially for the cities with a growth-driven policy. This paper proposes that green infrastructure, particularly green streets in relation to impervious surfaces, can deliver urban sustainability by providing a better understanding to promote the acceptance and successful adoption of green streets through literature review and case studies in the US. Green streets are primarily implemented within the right-of-way and facilitate stormwater treatment along with diverse street designs providing multiple benefits such as flood management, wildlife habitat and natural pathway creation, neighborhood beautification, cost-effective solution, and more. The defined green street typology in this paper is an important tool for communicating among planners and the public by providing form-based standardized classification. Green streets can be utilized as a sustainable development approach, fulfilling a variety of environmental, social, and economic objectives.