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Towards climate-resilient cities: Overcoming the barriers of blue-green infrastructure mainstreaming

Bollingerfehr, Pia (2022) Towards climate-resilient cities: Overcoming the barriers of blue-green infrastructure mainstreaming. Master thesis.

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Abstract

Blue-green infrastructure (BGI) is seen as a promising adaptation measure which deals with the negative impacts of climate change and urbanization in cities while simultaneously providing multiple social and ecological co-benefits. Against this background, this thesis unpacked gaps and opportunities of blue-green infrastructure policies as an effective means for climate-adaptive urban development. This research shows which mainstreaming barriers occur along the policy process on the strategic level and how they can be overcome. With the help of desk research, a policy analysis, and semi-structured interviews the two cases of Zwolle and Dordrecht were analyzed. The Dutch cities and front-runner in climate adaptation within the Netherlands both employ a set of mainstreaming strategies to integrate BGI into their spatial planning. Driven by their vulnerable, spatial location the municipalities have high climate adaptation ambitions. Six kinds of barriers which hinder mainstreaming in the policy process are examined: cognitive barriers, organizational and institutional barriers, social and political barriers, resource availability, BGI-related barriers and time barriers. Drawing on insights from the case study research, this thesis provides empirical evidence of mainstreaming strategies and their barriers. Four enabling mechanisms could be identified in order to overcome these barriers. The synergy exploitation mechanism, the organizational learning mechanism, the policy entrepreneur mechanism, and the funding mechanism provide action pathways for overcoming the mainstreaming barriers of BGI in the Dutch context.

Item Type: Thesis (Master)
Degree programme: Environmental & Infrastructure Planning
Supervisor: Busscher, T.
Date Deposited: 06 Sep 2022 14:51
Last Modified: 06 Sep 2022 14:51
URI: https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4030

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