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THE SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF CHICAGO'S GREEN ROOF INFRASTRUCTURE by Ben Postance Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia May 2008 © Copyright by Ben Postance, 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-43554-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-43554-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY To comply with the Canadian Privacy Act the National Library of Canada has requested that the following pages be removed from this copy of the thesis: Preliminary Pages Examiners Signature Page (pii) Dalhousie Library Copyright Agreement (piii) Appendices Copyright Releases (if applicable) To Homie, for my emotional survival and for everything. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 An Urbanizing World. 1 1.2 Rationale 3 1.3 Research Context. 4 1.4 Purpose, Research Questions, and Objectives 4 1.5 Research Methods 5 1.6 Structure of Thesis 5 CHAPTER 2: SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT 7 2.1 Sustainable Urban Development Strategies 7 2.2 Sustainable Cities 9 2.3 Sustainable Architecture 13 2.4 Conclusion 19 CHAPTER 3: GREEN ROOFS 21 3.1 Historical Analysis 21 3.2 Green Roof Benefits 24 3.2.1 Reduced Energy and Materials Consumption 25 3.2.2 Improved Air Quality. 26 3.2.3 Moderated Storm-water Run-off. 27 3.2.4 Diminished Urban Heat Island Effect. 27 3.2.5 Economic Benefits 28 3.2.6 Health Benefits 29 3.3 Conclusion 29 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH CONTEXT 31 4.1 Background Analysis 31 4.2 Sustainable City. 33 4.3 Sustainable Architecture 34 4.4 Green Roofs 35 v 4.5 Conclusion 39 CHAPTER 5: METHODOLOGY 41 5.1 Theoretical Perspectives 41 5.2 Case Study Research 45 5.3 Sample Selection and Recruitment. 46 5.4 The Validation Strategy. 48 5.5 The Interview Strategy. 49 5.6 Document Analysis 50 5.7 Personal Observation 50 5.8 The Data Analysis Procedure 51 5.9 Researcher Bias 51 CHAPTER 6: OBSTACLES TO GREEN ROOF INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: PERCEPTIONS OF INVOLVED ACTORS 53 6.1 Observability. 53 6.2 Compatibility. 54 6.3 Complexity. 54 6.4 Relative Advantage 55 6.5 •Trialability'. 57 6.6 Conclusion 58 CHAPTER 7: THE INITIATION AND EXPANSION OF CHICAGO'S GREEN ROOF INFRASTRUCTURE: PERCEPTIONS OF INVOLVED ACTORS 61 7.1 An Historical Process 61 7.2 Industry Factors 63 7.3 Political Forces 67 7.4 Economic Aspects 72 7.5 Environmental Exigency. 74 7.6 Values and Belief Systems 77 7.7 Opportunities for Green Roof Infrastructure Development. 79 7.8 Conclusions 81 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS 84 8.11mplications of the Research 85 8.2 Recommendations for Future Research 90 8.3 Recommendations for Promoting Green Roof Infrastructure Development 92 VI APPENDIX I: GREEN ROOF INFRASTRUCTURE GROWTH IN NORTH AMERICA 95 /'. Annual Total Square Feet of Green Roofs Constructed. 95 II. Percentage Growth in Square Feet of Constructed Green Roofs 95 Hi. Top Ten Cities (in Square Feet Constructed) 96 APPENDIX II: INTERDEPARTMENTAL CO-OPERATION AND THE CITY OF CHICAGO'S GREEN ROOF-RELATED INITIATIVES 97 APPENDIX III: KEY EVENTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHICAGO'S GREEN ROOF INFRASTRUCTURE 100 APPENDIX IV: INTERACTION NETWORK OF KEY ACTORS 101 BIBLIOGRAPHY 102 vii ABSTRACT Green roofs are becoming increasingly common in the discourse and practice of sustainable urban development. Nevertheless, green roofs continue to be adopted at a relatively limited rate in North America. Chicago, however, is one city which has made extraordinary progress in developing a green roof infrastructure. This research used a social dynamics framework to explore Chicago's exceptional rate of green roof adoption and diffusion. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen individuals, including representatives from municipal government bodies, non-profit sector organizations, private sector firms, and educational institutions. By dissecting the embedded social dynamics this research creates insight into the initiation and expansion of Chicago's green roof infrastructure, the obstacles that prevent green roofs from becoming a more widespread practice, the opportunities to further expand Chicago's infrastructure, and the lessons that the Chicago experience suggests for the promotion of green roof technologies in other North American cities. vm LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED CaGBC - Canadian Green Building Council CCGT - Chicago Center for Green Technology CDOE - Chicago Department of Environment CDPD - Chicago Department of Planning and Development CSO - Combined Sewer Overflows USEPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency EU - European Union ICLEI - International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives NT - Illinois Institute of Technology GRHC - Green Roofs for Healthy Cities GRIF - Green Roof Improvement Fund GUD - Green Urban Design LA21 - Local Agenda 21 LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design NICs - Newly Industrializing Countries OECD - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development RFI - Request for Information SCP - Sustainable Cities Program TIF - Tax Increment Financing UHI - Urban Heat Island Effect UIC - University of Illinois Chicago ULI - Urban Land Institute UN - United Nations USGBC - US Green Building Council WCED - World Commission on Environment and Development IX ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS / am greatly thankful to my supervisor, Professor Cote, for his guidance in preparing this thesis. Thank you for believing in my vision and for supporting me throughout this process. I would also like to extend my deep gratitude to my second reader, Professor Lundholm. Jeremy, your enthusiasm and encouragement has been vital to this thesis. Thank you so much for all of your help. I would like to acknowledge the faculty and staff of the Department of International Development Studies for providing such great assistance. Thank you to Nissim, Rebecca, David, and John. I am extremely grateful to all of the participants who contributed to this study. It was a great joy to share this discussion with you all. I sincerely thank you. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to my friends and family. I thank you for your questions, your input, and for just listening, but I will never be able to thank you enough. x 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 An Urbanizing World Urbanization is occurring at an extraordinary rate. Whereas the total population of the world's cities in 1950 was only two hundred million, by 1990, that figure had skyrocketed to over two billion (Girardet, 1992). In 1900, there were only four cities in the world, Beijing, Tokyo, Delhi, and London, with populations of approximately one million people; by the early 1990's, however, there were twenty cities with populations greater than ten million, nineteen of which were located in countries in the 'global south', and sixty cities of more than four million (Girardet, 2004). Moreover, Castell (2000) points out that we are now crossing a critical point in history in which approximately half of all of humanity now resides in urban areas and that this alarming rate of urban growth is nearly certain to expand into the future. Friedmann (2002) goes so far as to suggest that based on the current patterns of urbanization, it would not be unreasonable to presume that the notion of a rural-urban divide would no longer exist within fifty or a hundred years and that the fundamental concept of a rural environment would no longer be relevant. Given that cities are the primary contributors to local, regional, and global environmental degradation, as well as the loci of ecological crises, the severity that such a transformation presents to environmental quality clearly illustrates that urbanization is one of the key challenges of the current era. Contemporary urbanization patterns have not progressed as a worldwide homogenous event, however. Rather, the highest rates of urbanization are occurring in the poorest regions of the world (Girard, 2007). Newly industrializing countries (NICs) in the Asia-Pacific region, for example, account for a major portion of this rapid urban growth; some estimates suggest that as much as thirty percent of total urban population growth will be in this area (Douglass, Ard-am and Kim, 2002).