Decision support tools of sustainability assessment for urban stormwater management - A review of their roles in governance and management

Abstract

Urban areas face growing sustainable challenges arising from stormwater issues, necessitating the evolution of stormwater management concept and practice. This transformation not only entails the adoption of a multifunctional, holistic, and sustainable approach but also involves the integration of water quality and quantity considerations with governance and management aspects. A means to do so is via decision support tools. However, whilst existing studies using the tools by employing sustainability assessment principles or as indicators to plan blue-green infrastructures and strategies, uncertainties remain regarding how decision support tools encompass governance and management dimensions. The aim of this review study is to provide muchneeded clarity on this aspect, in doing so, a systematic review of decision support tools used in sustainability assessment within the stormwater management context is conducted, focusing on their abilities to include governance and management. Findings encompass governance aspects, such as actors, discourses, rules, and resources considered, and explore how these relate to long-term management. The results reveal the recognized potential of decision support tools in facilitating governance and management for sustainable stormwater management, however, future research and efforts need to be allocated in: (i) Exploring practical challenges in integrating all sustainability assessment pillars with consistent criteria into decision support tools, to determine the optimal use of all criteria in fostering open and informed stormwater governance and management. (ii) Understanding how to engage diverse stormwater actors with future decision support tools, to secure ownership and relevance. (iii) Using retrospective (ex-post) sustainability assessments to provide more tangible knowledge and to support long-term management.

Keywords

Decision support tools; Sustainability assessment; Stormwater management; Stormwater control measures; Governance and management; Policy arrangement model

Published in

Journal of Cleaner Production
2024, volume: 447, article number: 141646
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

SLU Authors

• Sun, Zhengdong

  • Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Deak Sjöman, Johanna

  • Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Randrup, Thomas

  • Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

SLUsystematic

Global goals (SDG)

SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Management
Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141646

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/130224