Files
Abstract
Low-impact development practices (LID) have been increasingly recognized for their multifaceted benefits. These practices include swales, green roofs, bioretention systems, and porous pavements. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlighted in 2007 that LID stormwater benefits enhance ecological sustainability, yield capital, and provide cost savings compared to conventional infrastructure. The current approach only focuses on cost-effectiveness and may not fully capture requirements due to diverse perspectives among stakeholders and implementers. An adaptable and flexible evaluation process is needed to accommodate the dynamic nature of projects. The study proposed a socio-economic framework that enabled an MS Excel-based Decision Support Tool (DST) to bridge this gap between the literature and project implementation.The effectiveness of the developed DST lies in mediating between various implementers' perspectives, providing insights for decision-making. The outcomes go beyond numbers by offering a framework for quantifying cost-benefit trade-offs and weighing them with project objectives. This study used DST to assess the prospective advantages and costs of two scenarios in South Carolina and North Carolina. In one of the scenarios, the overall cost was $743,083, with a potential savings of $22,971 from the next flood event and a 6.4 out of 10 benefit score for a roadside swale project. This score indicates the selected LID's probability of achieving the prioritized objective of mitigating the flooding challenge. These outcomes from tools can influence decision-making by encouraging a reward-based system revealing trade-offs between economic investments and social benefits.