Exploring residents' willingness-to-pay for benefits provided by Sustainable Drainage Systems

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) have increasingly been used in the recent years since they help adapt cities to climate change and make them more sustainable and resilient. Since they are multifunctional, these stormwater control measures provide numerous benefits. However, the question of acceptability by inhabitants remains partially open. This article seeks to assess preferences of the inhabitants living nearby with regards to SuDS implemented on public land. It relies on a discrete choice experiments whose attributes are the different benefits provided by SuDS. The study was conducted in the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg (France). Results show a strong preference for a reduction of urban heat island effects as well as flood prevention and water protection. Based on a latent class model, we also highlight the heterogeneous nature of the preferences. These results are important for the acceptance of environmental programs and a better guarantee of desirable and effective results.