The Envision Rating System Helps Shape Public Preferences for Sustainable Stormwater Design
Publication: Construction Research Congress 2022
ABSTRACT
An impediment to the transition from more conventional concrete stormwater systems to more green stormwater systems is the public’s hesitation to adopt green infrastructure. Aiding how the public constructs preferences about stormwater options may help alleviate this barrier. When facing complex and less familiar choices, people tend to construct preferences rather than hold pre-existing preferences. In this research, a national survey with 946 people explored how the public constructs preferences about stormwater infrastructure options. Participants evaluated the perceived risk and perceived benefits of a conventional concrete infrastructure system and a green stormwater infrastructure system. Half of the participants were randomly primed to think about the value of sustainable design by reviewing a green infrastructure case that received the Envision Rating System’s Bronze Award. This intervention group (i.e., the Envision Group) was also asked to rate the potential sustainability achievement for both of the options presented to them. Both groups believed the green infrastructure option presented more risks. They also recognized the higher benefits of the green stormwater option compared to the conventional concrete option. The Envision Group perceived the benefits of the green stormwater option as significantly more and were more likely to choose the green infrastructure option as their recommendation. These results help to demonstrate how the public constructs preferences for infrastructure options and how the use of rating systems like Envision can help prime the public to think about the value of sustainable design.
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Construction Research Congress 2022
Pages: 151 - 160
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Published online: Mar 7, 2022
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