Pathways to Greening Border Cities: A Policy Analysis for Green Infrastructure in Ambos Nogales

Patricia Schwartz, Adriana A. Zuniga-Teran (), Francisco Lara-Valencia, Hilda García-Pérez, Gabriel Díaz Montemayor, Claudia Gil Anaya, Joaquin Marruffo, Oscar A. Rodriguez Ponce and Zoe Holtzman
Additional contact information
Patricia Schwartz: School of Geography, Development & Environment, University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Adriana A. Zuniga-Teran: School of Geography, Development & Environment, University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Francisco Lara-Valencia: School of Transborder Studies, Arizona State University, 1120 Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
Hilda García-Pérez: Department of Population Studies, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Sede Nogales, Reforma esq. con Blvd. Luis Donaldo Colosio Del Rosario, Nogales 84020, Sonora, Mexico
Gabriel Díaz Montemayor: Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, University of Arkansas, 120 Vol Walker Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
Claudia Gil Anaya: Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, 1110 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007, USA
Joaquin Marruffo: Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, 1110 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007, USA
Oscar A. Rodriguez Ponce: School of Landscape Architecture, University of Arizona, 1040 N. Olive Rd., Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
Zoe Holtzman: Department of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: Green infrastructure (GI) has been proposed as a decentralized solution to complex urban water management issues. However, public policy remains a critical challenge for the wide adoption of GI, which is exacerbated in transboundary settings. We draw from public policy theory to analyze GI policies at the US–Mexico border. We examine the case of Ambos Nogales—two sister cities grappling with complex water management challenges. We examined existing policies and evaluated their impact on the implementation of GI at multiple levels (local, state, national, and binational). We also conducted interviews and a focus group with stakeholders. Our analysis unveils a set of barriers to the adoption of GI and a suite of opportunities for the enactment of GI policies. We outline five pathways for greening border cities, including (i) creating market-based GI incentives, (ii) adopting the net-zero urban water approach, (iii) engaging with existing institutions for greening efforts, (iv) planning for a GI network at the watershed scale, and (v) supporting local champions. By addressing shortcomings of policy and regulatory frameworks hindering local capacity, border cities will be more likely to adopt and widely implement GI solutions for more sustainable urban water management.

Keywords: green infrastructure; environmental policy; stakeholder engagement; transboundary water management; US-Mexico border; public policy; stormwater management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/4/781/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/4/781/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:4:p:781-:d:1111578

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().