Abstract:
Researchers increasingly consider the systematic integration of green infrastructure (GI) concepts in urban
planning as an essential approach to tackle significant current and future challenges. Cities in sub-Saharan Africa
(SSA) face rapid urbanization, unregulated land-use practices, and poor enforcement of policies. These cities
struggle to address the depletion and degradation of existing GI that increases their vulnerability to climatic
hazards that threaten ecosystem integrity, and compromise human health. This paper draws on a review of policy
documents, semi-structured interviews with metro officials, and cross-sector focus group discussions to explore
ways to operationalize GI spatial planning and design on the ground. Through a case study of the City of Tshwane
Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa, which takes a public-private co-development approach, we investigate
the uptake of GI planning principles, the challenges, and local proposals for GI applications. In conjunction with
the literature, we discuss the alternatives at hand. The local policy documents reflected many planning principles
anchored in the Global North literature. Together with public and private partners, we co-developed four locally
informed GI objectives: environmental protection, safety, joint ownership, and collaborative governance. We coidentified
local planning principles and three strategies for operationalizing GI planning, including working with
conventional planning, greater flexibility and creativity, and cross-sectoral collaboration. The findings suggest
that collaborative strategies that allow greater access and the active, diverse use of GI could provide muchrequired
cross-sectoral care and management. The real challenge is the establishment of such participatory
partnerships as mechanisms to consolidate diverse priorities and co-develop technical and financial alternatives.
