Assessing the Validity of a Green Infrastructure Conceptual Framework for Urban Transport Planning: Insights for Building Resilient Cities

Green Infrastructure (GI) has increasingly been recognised as a crucial strategy for enhancing urban resilience, particularly in urban transportation systems facing the challenges of climate change. Although several conceptual frameworks for GI planning have been proposed, empirical studies examining their application in urban transport planning contexts remain limited. This study aims to validate a recently developed GI conceptual framework by evaluating its applicability in urban transportation systems. A structured questionnaire was administered to 94 participants in Aotearoa New Zealand comprising urban planners, engineers, architects, policymakers, and academics involved in transportation and sustainability planning with special focus on GI. The framework was assessed across key dimensions including the perceived benefits of GI in transportation, stakeholder and collaborative practices barriers to implementation, and indicators of perceived effectiveness. The results confirm that the stakeholders’ perceptions of GI are significantly aligned with the dimensions of the conceptual framework, reinforcing its validity in assessing GI effectiveness. Key findings highlight a disconnect between stakeholders’ general familiarity with GI and their understanding of its multifunctional benefits beyond stormwater management. Also, the prevalence of multidisciplinary collaboration suggests that additional interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches are required for more holistic GI planning. This study recommends that the conceptual framework be considered for city adaptation to GI integration, and to do so effectively, these knowledge and cooperation gaps must be addressed