Using Value-Focused Thinking to Evaluate the Practicality of Porous Pavement Parking Areas on Air Force Installations

<p>Natural runoff processes have been altered by urban development; impervious surfaces (rooftops highways parking areas) and their associated stormwater systems channel runoff from a vast area into one concentrated outflow. This stormwater runoffcan cause erosion flooding landslides and significant damage to aquatic ecosystems.Runoff from highways and parking areas has also been shown to contain high levels ofsuspended solids heavy metals and hydrocarbons. Porous pavements allow infiltrationof water through typically impervious surfaces reducing stormwater volumes and actingas a pollutant filtration system.Since there is currently no methodology for Air Force decision-makers tocompare conventional and porous pavements a model was created using Value-FocusedThinking (VFT) to evaluate different paving options. Four porous paving alternativeswere compared against two conventional paving alternatives at three separate geographiclocations. These alternatives were scored using a total of 12 evaluation measures thatwere identified as important to the pavement selection process. Structural turf a porousalternative was found to be the best option for northern tier locations while conventionalasphalt was the best choice for central and southern areas. VFT was also shown to be aneffective methodology for comparing conventional and porous paving alternativesobjectively weighing economic costs against environmental considerations.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>