People’s Perception of Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Mitigation: The Case of Veneto Region (Italy)

Floods have become more frequent due to a growing number of extreme rainfall events linked to climate change and increased urbanization. Additionally, 66% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2050, making flood prevention and risk reduction increasingly important. Sustaina...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSustainability Vol. 14; no. 8; p. 4621
Main Authors Bernello, Giacomo, Mondino, Elena, Bortolini, Lucia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.04.2022
Subjects
Biodiversity
Climate change
Cost control
Drainage
Ecosystem services
Ecosystems
Environmental economics
Flood control
Flooding
Floods
Infrastructure
Jargon
Management systems
Mitigation
Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
Naturresurser och hållbar utveckling
Open spaces
Perception
Perceptions
Rain
Rainfall
Resilience
Riparian buffers
Risk management
Risk reduction
Runoff
Stormwater management
Sustainability
System effectiveness
Urban areas
Urban environments
Urban planning
Urbanization
Water management
Italy
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Summary:Floods have become more frequent due to a growing number of extreme rainfall events linked to climate change and increased urbanization. Additionally, 66% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2050, making flood prevention and risk reduction increasingly important. Sustainability, resilience and ecosystem services are essential to increase human well-being in urban environments. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) can provide all the benefits of urban green spaces combined with flood mitigation. This work aims to provide useful information to promote the adoption of NBS to build communities resilient to climate change by exploring how people’s perception of and willingness to implement some NBS. To this end, an online survey was conducted to investigate the knowledge and the perception of NBS and grey infrastructures among people in Veneto, a north-Eastern region of Italy. Data analysis revealed a significant correlation between previous knowledge of water management systems and the perceived effectiveness of some NBS. Behaviors linked to the level of connection with the territory have also been found to influence the perceived effectiveness of NBS. This study provides insights into the dynamics behind the implementation of NBS to reduce the risk of urban flooding and can help policymakers adapt urban plans to promote the adoption of NBS.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su14084621