An Integrated Framework for the Development of Green Infrastructure: A Literature Review

Green infrastructure (GI) has emerged as an active term of reference in project development planning. A gap exists in the GI research literature in the form of the absence of an integrated framework to assist engineering organizations in planning the start-up of new projects in the context of greening and sustainability. This study attempts to identify the existing frameworks that propose the development of green projects. The first purpose of this study is to explore the use of fully integrated GI in the engineering design of a modern, new development. A clear sequence of tasks must define the workflow, leading teamwork. This literature review identifies several different approaches and selects four to build a ready-to-use framework of sequenced tasks, which includes all the components of water management (rain and drainage, water supply and wastewater). This essay reviews GI literature with a focus on water resources and ecosystem services. It includes the methods, tools, and techniques available in different approaches, such as low impact development (LID), leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED), the British Columbia (BC) guidebook, and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) scorecard. It explores different frameworks to start or structure an urban development project.