Adopting a socio-technical perspective to challenges and barriers of Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) transition

ABSTRACT

Blue-Green Infrastructure is widely recognized as one of the keys to addressing climate change impacts and rapid urbanization challenges. Integrating nature-based solutions enhances cities’ resiliency through sustainable stormwater management, mitigating flood risks while providing various ecosystem services. However, despite these multiple benefits and co-benefits, BGI remains far from mainstream adoption. We conducted a selective literature review to explore this practical gap guided by the socio-technical transition theory. We then employed a multi-level perspective to conceptualize the results, as it helps elucidate the complex nature of this problem beyond the standard variables considered in the existing literature on challenges and barriers to BGI uptake. Finally, we argued the necessity of societal and institutional considerations in addition to the technical aspects while investigating it systematically. We categorized the findings into five clusters including institutional and governance, economics and finance, knowledge and experience, socio-cultural challenges, and spatial planning practices. These clusters are highly interconnected and influenced by one another, revealing the complexity of this issue. Based on these findings, we suggest approaching BGI transitions as a complex problem by using systems thinking practices. This would necessitate dynamic interdisciplinary and connective collaborations among different organizations to bridge this gap.