Prioritization of green infrastructure planning principles using analytic hierarchy process: The case of Addis Ababa

• Published in: Urban forestry & urban greening 2023-07, Vol.85, p.127965, Article 127965
• Main Authors: Mosissa, Samuel Tsegaye, Zhongwei, Shen, Tsegaye, Wubengda Haile, Teklemariam, Eden Atsbeha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analytic hierarchy process; GI principle; Green infrastructure; Multifunctionality
• ISSN: 1618-8667
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127965

Green infrastructure planning is an innovative landscape and urban planning strategy that aims to achieve sustainable urban development. However, green infrastructure (GI) literature is vast and complex. Still, there is no consensus among scholars and experts regarding the concept of green infrastructure and its application approaches. Thus, evaluating and prioritizing the GI principles assists cities like Addis Ababa in adopting and implementing GI. Multicriteria decision analysis techniques, such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), provide a method for systematically integrating experts to establish priorities and make decisions. Consequently, the purpose of the study is to, first and foremost, evaluate GI principles and identify guiding principles for GI planning for Addis Ababa. Second, based on the first objective result, evaluate the incorporation of the GI planning principle into Addis Ababa's city planning documents, thereby indicating the city's path towards GI. The principles are weighed to determine which GI principle should precede GI planning in Addis Ababa. The AHP method was utilized to determine the urban planners' priorities regarding green infrastructure planning principles and their incorporation into planning documents. The findings indicate that multifunctionality has become the most important planning principle for developing green infrastructure. The second objective of this inquiry is to evaluate the incorporation of multifunctionality into Addis Ababa's GI planning documents. Eleven crucial documents were subjected to a content analysis tool that drew on both direct and indirect references within the texts. These documents were reviewed and analyzed using multifunctionality principles derived from the literature on green infrastructure. The document analysis revealed that the meanings of the terms green infrastructure and multifunctionality varied considerably between documents. Except in two documents, the term multifunctionality is not described directly; and in three documents not described explicitly nor implicitly. In addition, the document analysis revealed that the terms "green infrastructure" and "multifunctionality" varied significantly between documents. Despite the fact that experts and professionals identified multifunctionality as a priority principle for the city, there is no standard definition and common description throughout the documents. The results would aid policymakers, planners, and governments in tryin