Coupled Human–Infrastructure Systems: Socio-Behavioral and Spatial Dynamics in Green Stormwater Infrastructure Adoption

Coupled Human–Infrastructure Systems: Socio-Behavioral and Spatial Dynamics in Green Stormwater Infrastructure Adoption | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Coupled Human–Infrastructure Systems: Socio-Behavioral and Spatial Dynamics in Green Stormwater Infrastructure Adoption KOOROSH AZIZI, Margaret Garcia, Dev Niyogi, Patrick Bixler This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6397766/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Urban stormwater management faces unprecedented challenges as climate change and rapid urbanization intensify flood risks and overwhelm aging gray infrastructure. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) offers a sustainable, decentralized alternative; however, its household-level adoption is hindered by socio-behavioral barriers that remain less studied. Here, we address this gap where we integrate empirical survey data, structural equation modeling (SEM), and agent-based modeling (ABM) to investigate these dynamics. SEM analysis quantified how environmental attitudes, social capital, financial capacity, and spatial factors influence GSI adoption decisions. The resulting parameters informed an ABM that simulated neighborhood-scale diffusion, showing that strong pro-environmental attitude and cohesive community networks significantly boost adoption, whereas high costs and spatial limitations deter participation, generating spatial clusters of adoption. Our findings highlight the need for targeted policies and financial incentives to overcome behavioral and economic obstacles, thereby accelerating GSI diffusion and enhancing urban resilience against climate-driven stormwater impacts. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Sustainability Scientific community and society/Energy and society/Energy and behaviour Scientific community and society/Geography Social science/Science, technology and society Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplemenatryMaterials.docx Supplemenatry Materials Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6397766","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":451165532,"identity":"0b369fa2-b878-47be-9d55-351dc77d8564","order_by":0,"name":"KOOROSH AZIZI","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0786-7323","institution":"University of Texas at Austin","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"KOOROSH","middleName":"","lastName":"AZIZI","suffix":""},{"id":451165533,"identity":"ebfaf2af-46ab-4de1-981a-a3896101df31","order_by":1,"name":"Margaret Garcia","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2864-2377","institution":"Arizona State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Margaret","middleName":"","lastName":"Garcia","suffix":""},{"id":451165534,"identity":"fac8d408-c49c-4f51-b681-b395a8715198","order_by":2,"name":"Dev Niyogi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Texas at Austin","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dev","middleName":"","lastName":"Niyogi","suffix":""},{"id":451165535,"identity":"524ea763-0814-4f57-89fe-700126ff29a9","order_by":3,"name":"Patrick Bixler","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Texas, Austin","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Patrick","middleName":"","lastName":"Bixler","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-07 23:55:50","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6397766/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6397766/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88014660,"identity":"9b24d0e2-9067-46a2-b378-616be0cd33b4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-31 12:49:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1217016,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6397766/v1_covered_79badc76-1dfe-4b50-8487-c96298fe7f98.pdf"},{"id":82129185,"identity":"50b8cffb-3c5d-4dc8-92f1-da3dab053a89","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-07 05:04:45","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":2578592,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSupplemenatry Materials\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"SupplemenatryMaterials.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6397766/v1/211e5a0c37dfc0e7a73b7d34.docx"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Coupled Human–Infrastructure Systems: Socio-Behavioral and Spatial Dynamics in Green Stormwater Infrastructure Adoption","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6397766/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6397766/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUrban stormwater management faces unprecedented challenges as climate change and rapid urbanization intensify flood risks and overwhelm aging gray infrastructure. 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