Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Joshua Ozymy

Abstract

In Washington, DC, historical data are used to adequately size for rainfall events, and efforts to increase stormwater management requirements are fought against by internal stakeholders. In urban planning, extreme rainfall events, that may occur more frequently than expected, are often not a consideration when designing for green infrastructure facilities. The purpose of this case study was to explore how internal and external stakeholders influence stormwater management policies related to extreme rainfall events in Washington, DC. The power and politics organization theory, which focuses on how individuals obtain influence, and the resource dependency theory, which explores how organizations benefit from sustainability, were used as the theoretical framework in this study. The case study analysis was conducted via phone interviews; through phone interviews, data were collected from 4 policymakers (i.e., external stakeholders), 5 real estate developers (i.e., internal stakeholders) and 3 internal team members (i.e., internal stakeholders) and analyzed thematically. All the stakeholders believed that it is not necessary to design the green infrastructure systems to the extreme rainfall event; however, the developers said that they would design their green infrastructure systems larger if required by policy. The results of the study showed that each group'€™s effect works in a cyclic fashion to each other. Recommendations for future studies include to expand and increase stakeholder participation. This collaboration and better communication can help in developing more efficient stormwater management policies for a better city, which is an implication for positive social change.

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