Demonstrating the Economic Benefits of Integrated, Green Infrastructure

It is a widely held opinion that protecting the environment and sustaining a high quality of life results in higher short and long-term costs. There is  growing evidence, however, that strategies and technologies supportive of these ideals are both technically and financially viable and deliver higher quality, more efficien and environmentally beneficial services at lower cost than current, conventional approaches.

In addition, many scientists, economists and planners have recognized that integrated approaches to problem  solving lead to more efficient, lower  cost solutions, and when developed with natural principles and elements in mind, improve the triple bottom line even further. This study examines how such an integrated decision making approach for municipal infrastructure, especially when  employing natural elements, can deliver tremendous  social, economic and environmental benefits as well as significant short and long-term cost-savings for municipal infrastructure and municipal governments.