Increasingly, water utilities are investing in green infrastructure to improve the liveability of our cities and towns. We have good information about the physical (or environmental) performance of green infrastructure.
But less is known about the value of services provided by these projects – e.g. environmental services, amenity benefits, and recreation and exercise opportunities. That’s because markets for many of these services and benefits don’t exist.
This was the subject of a paper recently published by researchers who were involved in the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities Integrated Research Project 2 (Comprehensive economic evaluation framework). The paper examines the value of converting Melbourne’s disused Main Outfall Sewer (MOS) into a multifunctional green space. This conversion is part of the Greening the Pipeline initiative, a partnership between Melbourne Water, local councils and VicRoads.
Journal publication: Valuing the benefits of a multifunctional water sensitive greenspace