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RESEARCH ARTICLE: Gaining Ground: Green Infrastructure Attitudes and Perceptions from Stakeholders in Syracuse, New York

Kathleen Barnhill^a1 and Richard Smardon^a2 c1

^a1 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York

^a2 Professor of Environmental Studies, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York

Abstract

This research is part of an ULTRA NSF-US Forest service research grant addressing urban ecosystem metabolism in Syracuse, New York. This project explores local stakeholders' perceptions of green infrastructure (GI) and ecosystems services from both positive and detracting perspectives. Focus groups were used to elicit responses for a thematic analysis. Respondents displayed confusion about what ecosystems services are, as well as what GI is. Implementation barriers include costs (who pays), what the benefits are, unanticipated impacts, and scale of implementation.

Environmental Practice 14:6–16 (2012)

(Received July 21 2011)

(Revised August 31 2011)

(Accepted September 09 2011)

(Online publication March 09 2012)

Correspondence:

^c1 Richard Smardon, PhD, Faculty of Environmental Studies, State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210; (phone) 315-470-6576; (fax) 315-470-6915; (e-mail) rsmardon@esf.edu

Kathleen Barnhill is a doctoral candidate in Environmental and Natural Resources Policy at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Her master's thesis, also at SUNY-ESF, was “Negotiating Sacred Space: Indigenous Participation in Local Environmental Governance.”

Richard Smardon, PhD, is a professor of Environmental Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He has worked with over 110 graduate students over 32 years of teaching in environmental policy and science, with specializations in wetland policy and management, green infrastructure, and sustainability planning. He has written four books with the latest being Sustaining the Worlds Wetlands: Setting Policy and Resolving Conflicts (Springer Press, 2009) . He also served as past National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) chair of Training Education and Research Working Group.