The vision outlined in “Greenworks Philadelphia” sets an ambitious agenda to transform Philadelphia into the “greenest city in America”, taking advantage of Philadelphia’s considerable assets such as walkable neighborhoods and mass transit, and reversing years of population and infrastructure decline. This will take a transformation in the way city agencies work together, and will need to align city government, non-governmental organizations and residents in a joint effort towards achieving a common goal of a more livable, sustainable city that reduces its energy needs, improves the economic condition of its citizens, and manages its natural resources to the greatest extent possible. PWD’s “Green City – Clean Water” program integrates management of Philadelphia’s watersheds into this larger context. It is designed to provide many benefits beyond the reduction of combined sewer overflows, so that every dollar spent provides a maximum return in benefits to the public and the environment. To fully understand the economic, environmental, and social benefits of the program, PWD has undertaken a Triple Bottom Line analysis. The results of this analysis are summarized below.
Keywords: green infrastructure; multiple benefits; triple bottom line analysis; urban heat island; climate change