Facilitating Multifunctional Green Infrastructure Planning in Washington, DC through a Tableau Interface

John R. Taylor, Mamatha Hanumappa, Lara Miller, Brendan Shane and Matthew L. Richardson
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John R. Taylor: Department of Plant Sciences and Entomology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
Mamatha Hanumappa: College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Lara Miller: The Trust for Public Land, Washington, DC 20003, USA
Brendan Shane: The Trust for Public Land, Washington, DC 20003, USA
Matthew L. Richardson: College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC 20008, USA

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-20

Abstract: Multifunctional urban green infrastructure (UGI) can regulate stormwater, mitigate heat islands, conserve biodiversity and biocultural diversity, and produce food, among other functions. Equitable governance of UGI requires new tools for sharing pertinent information. Our goal was to develop a public-access geographic information system (GIS) that can be used for comprehensive UGI planning in Washington, DC (the District) and to create an e-tool for UGI in the form of Tableau dashboards. The dashboards allow stakeholders to identify (1) existing UGI and (2) potential areas for new UGI including urban agriculture (UA). They also allow users to manipulate the data and identify priority locations for equitable UGI development by applying population vulnerability indices and other filters. We demonstrate use of the dashboards through scenarios focusing on UA in the District, which currently has 150 ha of existing UGI in the form of documented projects and an additional 2734 ha potentially suitable for UGI development. A total of 2575 ha is potentially suitable for UA, with 56% of that area in Wards 5, 7, and 8, which are largely food deserts and whose residents are primarily Black and experience the greatest inequities. Our work can serve as a model for similar digital tools in other locales using Tableau and other platforms.

Keywords: green infrastructure; urban agriculture; e-tools; participatory planning; urban metabolism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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