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36 © Idiata 2016 | Understanding the Role of Green Infrastructure
also both animate things, including animals and
plants, and inanimate things as well. Two
phenomena are the main drivers for green
infrastructure: sustainability and climate
change. This paper focuses on understanding
the concept of GI and the need for it, which also the degree of exposure to the prevailing condi-
depends on understanding the concepts of
sustainability, climate change, and their inter-
action with the environment.
The Environment
Environmental changes caused by humans are
creating regional combinations of environ-
mental conditions that, within the next 50 to
100 years, may fall outside the envelope within
which many of the terrestrial plants of a region
have evolved. The earth is undergoing rapid
environmental changes because of human
actions (Tilman and Lehman, 2001; Pimm et al.,
1995; Vitousek et al., 1997; Matson et al., 1997
& Tilman, 1999).
What is environment?
The physical environment includes land, air,
water, plants, and animals; buildings and other
infrastructure; and all of the natural resources
that provide our basic needs and opportunities
for social and economic development. A clean,
healthy environment is important for people's
physical and emotional wellbeing. At a funda-
mental level, factors such as clean air and good
quality drinking water are vital for people's
physical health. Other environmental factors,
such as noise pollution, can cause both physical
harm and psychological stress (MSD, 2003).
Infrastructure degrades and corrodes when
exposed to the environment in which it is
located. This process can be physical or chemi-
cal in nature. The environment over time may
become increasingly polluted both by natural
and man-made factors. Therefore, it is impor-
tant for engineers to understand the relation-
ship between the material and the environment
to incorporate control measures in the design
(Ahmad, 2006). Worldwide, more concrete is
used than any other man made material, with
approximately 12 billion tonnes used annually.
The corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete
and the corrosion of mass concrete are major
Science Target Inc. www.sciencetarget.com
problems facing civil engineers today as they
maintain an ageing infrastructure (Broomfield,
2007). Richardson (2002), said that at the turn
of the millennium, the risk of concrete failing to
perform satisfactory over its service life lies in
tion (environment).
Corrosion is the deterioration of a substance or
its properties as a result of an undesirable
reaction with the environment (Bell, G.C.E and
NACE International). The environment impacts:
- Human health
- Animals and plants
- Infrastructures
- Soil
- Water
The drivers of environmental impacts are:
- Population
- Waste generation and disposal
- Energy production and usage
- Deforestation, degradation, and spillage
- Built infrastructure
- Industrialization
- Modernization
Of all those listed above, the primary driver is
population, and the others are basically sec-
ondary.
Climate Change Concept
The issue of corrosion is critical to infra-
structure. Understanding climate change and its
impact is important. It is said that all environ-
ments are corrosive to some degree (Ahmad,
2006). Climate change is a large scale, long term
shift in the planet's weather patterns or average
temperatures (Met Office, 2015).
According to NASA, the Earth's climate has
changed throughout history. The current
warming trend is of particular significance
because most of it is human-induced and is
proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in
the past 1,300 years. There is no question that