Building the Future: Green infrastructure approaches to rural service delivery & economic development in Southwest Ontario

This paper explores the use and benefits of Green Infrastructure in rural and small-town communities in Southwestern Ontario. 19 key informant interviews inform the qualitative findings that rural communities are engaging in and receiving diverse benefits from collaborative Green Infrastructure projects and initiatives. While Green Infrastructure is prevalent on the rural landscape, this term covers a wide array of natural and human made features and is rarely used to describe projects and initiatives aimed at improving ecosystem services on rural service provisioning in the study area. Regardless of terminology, interviewees identified both economic and non-economic outcomes of GI projects that resonate with rural stakeholders and have served as motivating factors to expand GI on public and private land. A lack of awareness and consideration of rural needs and opportunities related to Green Infrastructure has slowed the uptake of this important approach to planning and development and should be addressed through further research initiatives and support from senior levels of government in policy, funding, and training.