A Soft Systems Methodology and Interpretive Structural Modeling Framework For Green Infrastructure Development To Control Runoff in Tehran Metropolis

19397445, 2022, 2, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nrm.12339 by Jordan Hinari NPL, Wiley Online Library on [08/02/2023].
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Received: 20 July 2021 | Accepted: 27 December 2021
DOI: 10.1111/nrm.12339
A soft systems methodology and interpretive

structural modeling framework for Green
infrastructure development to control runoff
in Tehran metropolis
Iman Saeedi1 | Ali Reza Mikaeili Tabrizi1 |

2
Abdolreza Bahremand | Abdolrassoul Salmanmahiny1
1
Department of Environmental Sciences,
Faculty of Fisheries and Environmental Abstract
Sciences, Gorgan University of Green Infrastructure Development (GID) is a well‐
Agricultural Sciences and Natural
Resources, Gorgan, Iran
known method for dealing with runoff control and
2
Department of Watershed Management, mitigating the urbanization effects on hydrological
Faculty of Rangeland and Watershed cycles. Other than hydrological factors, GID is
Management, Gorgan University of
obviously intertwined with many socioeconomic,
Agricultural Sciences and Natural
Resources, Gorgan, Iran environmental, and aesthetic considerations, con-
straints, and drivers. Human perceptions are valuable
Correspondence
resources to distinguish these considerations and can
Iman Saeedi, Department of
Environmental Sciences, Faculty of be derived from unstructured information using a
Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, systematic method. The purpose of this article is to
Gorgan University of Agricultural
Sciences and Natural Resources,
exhibit how the perceptions of stakeholders were de-
Gorgan, Iran. rived in Tehran for a conceptual model of green in-
Email: isaeedi@malayeru.ac.ir frastructure development. For this, we applied a
Funding information
combination of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and
student grant, Gorgan University of Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). The results
Agricultural Sciences and Natural revealed the main stakeholders, their relationships and
Resources, Grant/Award Number:
responsibility, main obstacles for GID, and the con-
9721194503
ceptual system of activities for GIs development in
Tehran. Based on the results, actions for improving the
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits
use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or
adaptations are made.
© 2022 The Authors. Natural Resource Modeling published by Wiley Periodicals LLC
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https://doi.org/10.1111/nrm.12339
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2 of 26 | Natural Resource Modeling SAEEDI ET AL.
current situation were proposed and categorized in 10

main components including: further research, regula-
tion, financial support, negotiation with stakeholders,
evaluation and monitoring, enhancing stakeholders'
interactions, providing comprehensive database, ac-
culturalization, managerial reform, and training of
stakeholders. ISM was performed to obtain a visible,
ordered, and well‐defined model of the relationships
among the main components. The results revealed that
the item “further research” plays the main role in ac-
tualizing three components “regulation,” “financial
support,” and “negotiation with stakeholders” in the
process of GID in Tehran while the realization of the
rest of the components depends on the former three
components.
Recommendation for Resource Managers

• Green infrastructure development (GID) in built ci-
ties with different stakeholders is intertwined with
many socioeconomic, environmental, aesthetical
considerations, constraints, and drivers, other than
hydrological ones.
• Soft systems methodology (SSM) and interpretive
structural modeling (ISM) presented in this study pro-
vided a good framework for arranging stakeholders'
opinions and reaching action plans regarding GID.
• To change the current status of Tehran Metropolitan
and move toward GID quo 10 categories of actions
were proposed including: further research, regula-
tion, financial support, negotiation with stake-
holders, evaluation and monitoring, enhancement of
stakeholders' interactions, providing a comprehen-
sive database, acculturalization, management
reform, and stakeholder training.
• More research is needed to activate three compo-
nents of GID in Tehran: regulation, financial sup-
port, and negotiation with stakeholders while the
realization of the other components depended on the
mentioned three components.
SAEEDI ET AL. Natural Resource Modeling | 3 of 26
KEYWORDS
green infrastructure development, interpretive structural
modeling, runoff control, soft systems methodology, Tehran
1 | INTRODUCTION
Urbanization generally means increased construction and decreased undeveloped land. Urban
construction usually results in increased rate of impervious surface that contributes to runoff
generation, surface water pollution, and local climate alteration. Part of a sustainable solution
for urban pollution control may comprise incorporation of natural elements into the urban
fabric.
Green infrastructure (GI) is a nature inspired idea that has highly attracted researchers'
attentions recently. This concept consists of microscale practices like rain cisterns,
bioretention beds, permeable pavements, bio‐swales, dry‐swales, green roofs, and macro-
scale practices (e.g., detention ponds, retention ponds, and wet lands). Green infrastructure
development (GID) is a distinguished method to deal with runoff control and mitigate the
urbanization effects on hydrological cycles. Many hydrological studies revealed the positive
effects of these practices at least on water quantity and runoff reduction. For example,
in 2017 Lizárraga‐Mendiola and colleagues estimated hydrological effectiveness of a bior-
etention cell and an infiltration trench in a microwatershed on runoff reduction. Saeedi and
Goodarzi (2020) introduced a plan for harvesting rainwater and its reuse in a university
campus located in a semi‐arid watershed. Mani et al. (2019) established a framework for
optimal management of runoff using low impact development (LID)s considering service
performance reduction. Another study simulated runoff reduction after establishing LID
practices (Bai et al., 2018).
Obviously, GID is intertwined with many socioeconomic, environmental, and aesthetic
considerations, constraints, and drivers, other than hydrological ones. In this connection,
stakeholders' priorities need to be considered before implementation of GI practices. Another
contributing factor regarding stakeholders is consideration of the stakeholders' views and their
linkages with various agencies for agreeing on an effective and practical GID plan. This
problem intensifies when GI practices are introduced in a built city consisting of compact
structures and less compact areas involving myriad stakeholders with opposing views of the
problem. The problem here is defined to be a soft system issue in need of soft approaches to
understand the hidden aspects, identify the current situation and reveal the viewpoints of the
key stakeholders.
1.1 | Soft approaches
Soft approaches assume that the problem identification is not straightforward. These
approaches deem problem as systems that have hidden aspects in social, economic and psy-
chological contexts affecting the progress of the system. In other words, soft approaches re-
cognize that peoples' perceptions regarding problems are different. Therefore, multiple
preferences will be produced to deal with the problem. Another fact about soft problems is that
these problems are replete with subjectivity due to stakeholders' perceptions and preferences
(Pidd, 1997). Soft systems methodology (SSM) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) are
two well‐known methods used for unclear problems, multiple stakeholders and their percep-
tion regarding the system, and obscure restrictions.
1.2 | Soft systems methodology
SSM is a systemized tool widely used for analyzing unstructured data related to human
perceptions developed by Checkland and Scholes in 1999. This approach was developed
for dealing with the problematical, messy situations. As defined by Checkland and Poulter
(2020) It is an action‐oriented process of inquiry into problematic situations in which users
learn their way from finding out about the situation, to taking action to improve it. SSM is a
beneficial approach for identifying stakeholders, and analyzing their views in different
fields like ecological restoration of natural habitat (Nguyen et al., 2019), water scarcity
(de Farias Gomes et al., 2015), and flood managements (Suriya & Mudgal, 2013).
Structuring the flow of information (Bosch et al., 2007), SSM is able to turn unstructured
and complex information into systemized data and obtain stakeholders perceptions (Guay
& Waaub, 2015). SSM is a tool that helps develop GI practices in the primary stage of each
research, however its application for GID is still less common.
According to Checkland and Scholes (1999), SSM Model consists of seven
steps: identify current problem situation, describing the situation, root definition of
relevant purposeful activity system, creating conceptual model, comparing the conceptual
model to the systemized world, considering feasible and desirable changes, and com-
posing actions to improve the problem situation. As shown in Figure 1, SSM has two
modes; real world activities (Steps 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7) and systems thinking about real world
(Steps 3 and 4). It is worth noting that there is no need to follow all the steps (Mehregan
et al., 2012).
FIGURE 1 Steps of soft systems methodology and interpretive structural modeling

1.3 | Interpretive structural modeling
ISM is a widely used structural modeling introduced by Warfield (1973), to analyze complex
relationships between elements involved in a complex situation. Researchers perform ISM to reach
a visible, ordered, and well‐defined model from unclear and complex system based on experts'
experience and knowledge (Gholami et al., 2020). In other words, ISM is a method that assist in
identifying the relationships between specific elements within a system effectively (Shahabi
et al., 2020). The aim of ISM is to expedite the process of creating a digraph, which can be converted to
a structural model, and then inspected and revised to capture the user's best perceptions of the
situation (Malone, 1975). Raut et al. (2017) enumerated the advantages of ISM approach as fol-
lowing: turning a complicated system with different variables into a simplified model, providing an
interpretation of fixed objects, and making it easier to identify the structure of a system.
Reviews of literature show that soft approaches could be potentially applied for uncovering the
unstructured perceptions of stakeholders about runoff control, water scarcity, and GID. For ex-
ample, Suriya and Mudgal (2013) discussed actions for integrated flood management using SSM and
used pairwise comparison for ranking the criteria to be used for better flood controlling. de Farias
Gomes et al. (2015) also utilized SSM to address problematic situation of bad water resource
management in the Epitácio Pessoa dam and identified the use of SSM is an adequate tool for
practical solution of water scarcity. Another study took the advantage of ISM to find key drivers that
trigger floods from glacial lakes (Trivedi et al., 2021). Darnthamrongkul and Mozingo (2021) studied
users' reactions to some LID introduced for sustainable storm water management in the San
Francisco Bay Area and results revealed the positive effects of these structures in satisfying public
expectations. Another study used stakeholders' perceptions to cover the gap of using LID for in-
dustrial sustainable storm water management and identified technological feasibility limitation,
institutional inertia, and cognitive shortage as the main barriers (Wang & van Roon, 2021).
According to the review, some studies investigated the role of stakeholders' perception for
water resource management while the research for introducing GID in the context of built
cities is not progressed. Built cities are replete with complexity like cultural, managerial, po-
litical and historical differences. Therefore, to reach a better understanding of the complex
situation and cover the hidden aspect of the problem, we need a multidisciplinary approach to
build a clear definition of the current situation. In the case of GID, introduction of green
infrastructure practices to a built city involves human choices where the restoration of the
urban spaces with GI practices represents human desire for environmental changes. Human
preferences indicate how people perceive and deal with GID and how they welcome policies for
encouraging the implementation of these practices in cities. This study tries to bring together
different disciplinary approaches and show how the use of SSM and ISM contribute to building
a clear definition of the problem. Therefore, this study takes a step forward with analyzing
perceptions of stakeholders about the current situation of Tehran to reach a conceptual model
of green infrastructure development.
2 | MATERIALS A ND METHODS
2.1 | Study area
Tehran is a megacity with an area of around 730 km2 and more than 8.5 million residents,
located at the foothill of Alborz Mountains. The city consists of 22 districts, with the middle
districts being highly urbanized while marginal districts have more open spaces and untouched
lands. The slope of the majority of the city is about 3–9% from the north to the south. There are
seven river valleys streaming the city from the north to the south. These natural corridors play
crucial roles as places for energy and wind flows. Land use in the city varies significantly.
Excluding large patches dispersed in the northern foothills and the margins of the city, all
patches of the inner city are manmade and impermeable. Climatically, the annual precipitation
of Tehran is about 244 mm, the average number of rainy days in a year is 93.2 days, the average
high temperatures during summer are between 32°C and 36°C, and during summer there is
almost no rainfall.
Tehran metropolis has experienced rapid growth in the past three decades. Uncontrolled
urbanization has changed natural hydrological cycle and put this megacity in danger of water
logging and flood. According to Moghadas et al. (2019), flood risk is one of the most important
natural hazards in Tehran. The city is covered with impermeable surfaces like residential and
commercial building, highways, roads, parking lots, and so on. During rainy days, rainfall
rapidly turns into runoff flowing throughout the streets and eventually moves out of the urban
watershed. Therefore, the level of groundwater supply is expected to have lowered gradually.
Today's main policy of the decision makers to deal with this problem revolves around utilizing
traditional flood systems like concrete channelization for conveying runoff which intensifies
the problem of groundwater recharge. Therefore, it seems that GID in Tehran could play an
important role in the rehabilitation of the disrupted hydrological cycle, reduction of the runoff
problem, and in paving the way towards urban sustainability.
2.2 | METHOD
2.2.1 | Data collection
A combination of in‐depth interview and questionnaire was used for data gathering. The whole
process of data gathering was conducted between January 20 and June 17, 2021. Due to the
COVID‐19 pandemic situation, interviews were held in the form of webinars using Skype and
Adobe Connect. To enhance the efficiency when filling out the questionnaires, a 10‐min video
clip was provided to guide the respondents regarding GID. The information contained in this
video clip was provided through a deep literature review. The video consisted of recounting
problems of Tehran metropolis regarding runoff control, implementing GI, necessities of
these practices, main drivers and obstacles, current efforts, and prospects of integrating the GI
practices with the city's policies. The average time needed for watching the video clip and
interview was between 40 and 60 min approximately. Each interview was recorded with con-
sent for further analysis and transcriptions.
To reach a comprehensive vision for SSM, each participant was interviewed two times. In
the first interview entitled; Understanding the Current Situation. The interviewee and the
interviewer watched the video clip and two sides discussed about the first three steps of SSM;
problem identification, problem situation, and root definition. The discussion was structured
using the Customer, Actor, Transformation, Worldview, Owner, and Environment (CATWOE)
checklist. Then, the information gathered from each interview were categorized, coded, and
arranged in checklists. The use of checklists as instruments for data collection to produce a
record for later coding is a reliable method in qualitative research (Drew et al., 2007). After-
wards, the results of the first stage of interview were summarized and presented at the
beginning of the second interview entitled Solutions for Change. The second interview focused
on attaining the systemized model, its comparison with the real world, and proposing actions
for change. Similar to the first interview, the results of each recording were documented, coded,
and classified and then checked with senior researchers.
Data collection was conducted with 13 participants. No new worldview was obtained after
interviewing nine participants showing saturation of data collection (Mason, 2010). Authors
used purposeful sampling because the subject of the research needed tacit knowledge of
participants who were information–rich and knowledgeable regarding the aim of this study
(Elo et al., 2014). Participants were recruited from faculty members, governmental staffs,
consultants, and contractors of the companies in Tehran Metropolis. Participants' demo-
graphics are illustrated in appendix A.
2.2.2 | Soft systems methodology
As shown in Figure 1, we applied the seven steps of SSM in this study. In the first step, using in‐
depth interview, the current situation was identified. As the second step, a rich picture of the
real world was developed using current situation (Second step). In the third step, the results of
the step two were passed through the systems thinking. Systems thinking helps us understand
problems systematically. Problems in the real world are usually subjective, complicated and
interrelated and it is possible that by solving one problem we make other problems worse.
Therefore, systemic thinking helps researchers understand connectedness of problems and
separate them out. CATWOE analysis and root definition are two parts of step 3. To reach a
holistic root definition of the problem the what‐how‐why approach was followed (Checkland &
Scholes, 1999). In this approach what is “What the system does,” how is “How the system does
it” and why depicts “Why it is being done.” Then CATWOE analysis was applied to enrich the
root definition. In the fourth step, a primary Conceptual System instead of Conceptual Model as
suggested by Nguyen et al. (2019) was formed. The reason for this modification was system-
ization of contributing factors, better understanding, avoiding complexity, and educational
proposes. To adjust the results of systemized model, in step five, a comparison between the real
world (the outcome of the step 2) and the conceptual system was made. The aim is to prepare
material for negotiation about the possible change in the next step. In step six, feasible and
desirable changes to the model were identified. The changes should follow the desired model
but still feasible culturally, technically, historically, and politically. Finally, the outcome of the
last step of SSM provided us with the actions for changing the current situation with high
likelihood of success. These actions were divided into 10 components of GID.
2.2.3 | Interpretive structural modeling
We applied ISM in five steps to define how the final components of GID (the outputs of SSM)
are related together and to reach a clear structural model for GID. As shown in Figure 1, the
five steps of ISM include pairwise comparison and formation of structural self‐interactive
matrix (SSIM), translation of relationships of SSIM into binary matrix, solving contradictory
relations, formation of reachability, antecedents and intersection sets, and Drawing the graph
of hierarchies. These steps were elaborated below.
We designed an ISM‐based questionnaire to elicit participants' tacit knowledge regarding

the relationships between the main components of GID (the outputs of SSM). The main part of
the questionnaire was a ten by 10 square matrix in which the title of each column and row was
filled with the 10 components of GID. Actions for changes in each component were included as
an appendix. Using the questionnaire, the contextual correlation for each component and the
connection between any two components (i and j), and the associated direction of the re-
lationship was asked using “will influence” type revealing that one component will influence
another component. In other words, participants were asked whether the i component would
influence the j component or vice versa or if they thought there was a mutual influence
between the two components. According to ISM methodology, four symbols (V, A, X, and O)
are applied to represent the types of relationships between two components. Where Component
i will influence component j, the symbol V was used. Where Component i will be influenced by
Component j, the symbol A was used. Where there is mutual influence (Component i and j will
influence each other), the symbol X was used. Finally if Component i and j are unrelated the
symbol O was used. The results of this interview developed a SSIM. The authors used mode
statistics to create an integrated SSIM. Using mode statistics in ISM to create an integrated
SSIM has been reported in previous research (Prasad & Suri, 2011; Sarikhani et al., 2020).
In the next step, to convert the integrated matrix into an initial reachability matrix (binary
matrix) using 0 and 1, guidelines of ISM (see Appendix B) were taken into account. There could
be some contradictions between the results of initial reachability matrices. For example, if
component A influenced component B, and component B influenced component C, then,
surely, component A would influence component C. To solve these contradictory relations,
Equation 1 proposed by Azar et al. (2019) was used to the final reachability matrix. The
summation of each row shows driving power of each component while the summation of each
column illustrates the dependence power of each component (Gholami et al., 2020)
SSIM = Boolean(An −1 = An ) (1)
Taking the relations of the final reachability matrix into account, it is possible to extract
reachability sets and antecedent sets of components for each component. The reachability set
for component A consists of particular components that influence realization of component A,
whereas the antecedent set for component A comprise the components that are under the
influence of component A. To verify the level of difference between components, the inter-
section of these two sets was acquired. The component with the same reachability and inter-
section sets belonged to the high level of ISM hierarchy. In other words, the top level
components are those that will not lead to the other component above their own level in the
hierarchy. Recognizing the top level of components, they were removed from consideration.
Then, the same process was repeated to identify the components in the previous level. We
continued this process until all components were categorized in different levels. Finally, the
relationships between different levels were shown.
2.3 | Validity and reliability of the study
Validity in qualitative research suggests the appropriateness of tools, processes, and data
(Leung, 2015). Referring to Whittemore et al. (2001), that described techniques for demon-
strating validity, a conscious effort was made to adopt methods that ensured the validity of the
research. These techniques comprised four main aspects to ensure the validity in qualitative
research: design consideration, data generation, analytic, and presentation. First, authors
endeavored for validity in design consideration through ensuring that each participant had a
voice during the interview. Second, the data collection method used in this study clearly
articulates data collection decision. For example, applying purposeful sampling in this study
instead of other sampling methods was applied because of the specialized nature of the aim of
this study warranting the participants shared their own knowledge regarding the question
discussed. Furthermore, the demonstration of saturation in data collection and providing
verbatim transcription ensured the validity of data generation. Third, in analysis, conducting
literature review which was supplemented with member checking certified that all participants
had preferable experience. Finally, in presentation, providing evidence through participant
quotations proved interpretations (Whittemore et al., 2001).
The concept of reliability in qualitative research could be challenging because of differences
in qualitative paradigms. Reliability in qualitative research is related with consistency
(Leung, 2015). In this study, reliability was ensured through constant comparison and
discussion between senior researchers performing the analysis and a researcher in charge of
coding as a form of triangulation and an audit trail of analysis process (Glaser, 1965;
Leung, 2015).
TABLE 1 The reasons for runoff and flood problems in Tehran metropolis
Row Category Problem
1 Hydrologic Low efficiency of the current surface drainage system;
Deteriorating natural pattern of river valleys in Tehran;
Considering runoff as a waste rather than a resource;
Focusing on construction of systems with rapid runoff drainage power and
Neglecting the possibility of runoff detention in proper areas;
Canal blockage with trash and garbage;
Improper maintenance of current storm water management systems.
2 Urban context High rate of impermeable surface in the city;
Sparse green spaces;
Steep slopes in some areas;
Rapid conversion of natural areas into buildings and streets especially in urban
fringes.
3 Managerial Managers' tendency for short term projects of runoff control with short term
efficiency;
Lack of decision makers' knowledge;
Non‐ existence of a compromise between governmental organizations and other
stakeholders about the solutions;
Poor monitoring of constructions projects;
4 Climate change Changing the precipitation form from snow to rain;
Heavy downpours in short run.
3 | RESUL TS
3.1 | Step 1: Problem identification
Respondents' point of view regarding the reasons of runoff and flood problems in Tehran varied
extremely (Table 1). These answers could be divided into four categories including hydrologic,
urban context, managerial, and climatic factors.
The result showed that the participants deemed a variety of reasons as the main obstacles
for GID in Tehran metropolis as summarized in Table 2. These obstacles vary from
nonexistence of proper Persian names for some of these practices to lack of empty land for
allocation and development.
TABLE 2 The main obstacles for green infrastructure development (GID) in Tehran
Row Category Problem
1 Hydrologic Poor efficiency of the current surface drainage system;
Treating runoff as a waste rather than a resource;
Low possibility of integrating GI with storm water management systems.
2 Urbanization Rapid urban growth;
Lack of sufficient open space in the city;
Continued urban sprawl;
Existence of rundown areas which are not suitable for GID in Tehran;
Giving no priority to GID in the comprehensive plan of Tehran;
Misinterpreting the concepts of GI with urban green spaces.
3 Climatic Some GI practices might not be sustainable due to the semi‐arid climate of
Tehran;
Lack of water for irrigation.
4 Financial Lack of financial support;
Economic recession of Iran which adversely affects any development;
Non‐existence of economic stimulus;
High price of properties in Tehran;
Unknown stakeholders that benefit from the current situation.
5 Managerial GID is not in priority of decision makers;
Decision makers won't welcome new ideas;
Decision makers' lack of knowledge about the benefits of GID;
Managers' tendency for short‐term projects that have short term effects;
Non‐existence of regulations and rules to support GID;
6 Social and cultural GID needs social support and acculturalization;
Citizens' lack of knowledge about the benefits of GID;
Nonexistence of Persian name for some GI practices.
Direcon Tendency
Policy Local
Cizens Impermeable areas
makers agencies
Impact
Interacon Interacon Design
Land owner
Weak Impact
Impact
NGOs Consultant
Acculturalizaon Green infrastructures Neglecng
companies
Study Negave impact

Study Interacon
Researchers Researchers Contractors

Interacon
F I G U R E 2 The rich picture illustrating the current relationships and processes between the stakeholders in
terms of green infrastructures
3.2 | Step 2: Rich picture development
The main stakeholders of GID in Tehran comprised of residents, governmental agencies

(e.g., Tehran Municipality (TM), Tehran Province Water and Wastewater (TPWW),
Department of Environment (DE)), policy makers, landowners, university researchers, com-
panies and private consultants, contractors, and environmental nongovernmental organiza-
tions (ENGO) (Figure 2).
Due to the existence of supportive regulations and rules regarding various impermeable
development and lack of GID legislations, governmental organizations like Tehran
Municipality rely on nongreen forms of development to control and reuse runoff. Therefore, the
traditional forms of storm water management practices precede other more sustainable prac-
tices. So, the governmental organizations are interacting with consultant companies to provide
plans for controlling runoff and neglect GID. The plans are realized by contractors specializing
at urban impermeable surface. Eventually, the rate of green infrastructure becomes low while
impermeable spaces increase.
On the other hand, university researchers have started studies about the benefits of GID in
the city using simulation methods and small pilots in the form of articles and university
research projects are being undertaken. The studies are however far from being utilized
practically. As such, most of these studies fall short of contributing to sustainable development
of Tehran metropolis and the benefits are restricted to small‐scale developments in the whole
city. Researchers' collaborations with environmental NGOs lead to raising community's
awareness about the benefits of GID and contribute to acculturalization but these efforts have
been suppressed by lack of economic incentives, supportive regulations, rules, and practical
frameworks for GI implementations by residents.
Rich picture of the information gathered in this study revealed some challenges exist be-
tween the main stakeholders regarding GIs development for runoff control. Although the
majority of stakeholders cared about flood hazard and sought policies for controlling runoff,
they believed that it is the duty of Tehran Municipality (TM) and other governmental institutes
to go after GID.
3.3 | Step 3: Create systemized model
(1) CATWOE analysis
Steps 1 and 2 clarified the existence of some fragmented interactions among stakeholders as
well as different types of constraints hindering GID in the city. Thus, to acquire a deep un-
derstanding of stakeholders' perception, the results of Step 2 were entered in the systemized
world to obtain CATWOE analysis, a root definition and a conceptual model. As mentioned,
CATWOE analysis includes key drivers (customers, actors, and owners), possible victims,
environmental constraints, transformation processes, and possible impacts.
Customers and victims: The main customers of GID are residents of Tehran who will benefit
from hydrologic, ecological, social, and even economic aspects of GID in their neighborhoods.
The second customer of GID is TM that may cut down its expenditure through integrating
green spaces with GI practices that generate spaces with low maintenance. GID contributes to
less water logging and relieves TM from becoming involved in many flood events.
On the other hand, participants indicated that some residents might consider themselves
the victims of such developments due to being in vicinity of these projects and probable water
logging effects, mosquito breeding, and possible safety problems. Contractors, consultants, and
decision makers who benefit from traditional ways of storm water management as well as those
who are less knowledgeable about GID might see their position in danger and deem themselves
as victims. Some participants indicated that TM might consider itself a victim of GID since this
organization might lose its financial resources by selling constructional permissions or buying
properties for GID. It is worth mentioning that the majority of participants admitted that GID
in Tehran does not have any victim in the long term.
Actors: We found various actors of GID exist in Tehran metropolis. Taking into account the
important ones, the first group is governmental agencies such as TM, TPWW, FRWMO1, and
DE that are responsible for providing safe, healthy, sociable, and sustainable environment for
the city. Other groups consist of landowners, residents, and those who can implement these
practices in their properties and benefit from the added value. Another important group of
actors for GID in Tehran is researchers in the relevant fields. ENGOs also provide educational
programs to convince local authorities and residents and are thus considered as a group of
actors.
Transformation: Enhancing the hydrological cycle of surface runoff in the city and changing
it to a more natural cycle can be regarded as the transformation here.
World view: The world view is a sentence indicating the effects of GID on society. Several
interviews with expert participants revealed that the best world view for this topic would
be accomplishment of GID in Tehran can alter the society perception about the possibility of
integrating socio‐ecological values with the city.
Owners: Participants indicated that GI implemented within the city is in custody of TM.
Therefore, the main owner of GID in Tehran is TM. The residents who use these practices and
implement some GI in their properties are the secondary owners of GID in Tehran. Since DE
and FRWMO are the main landowners of properties in Tehran, every GI practices constructed
in their lands will be in custody of these governmental organizations.
Environmental restriction: Tehran is a compact city with low rate of open spaces (Ghadami
et al., 2020), thus an important environmental restriction is open space shortage for development
which is a constraint for decision making. In addition, GID in Tehran might not be supported
because of the lack of financial resources. Moreover, GID needs regulations and instructions.
Other restrictions indicated by the participants are existence of worn‐out residential areas, low
efficiency of the current surface drainage systems and low possibility of integrating GI with storm
water management systems. Table 2 illustrates the main obstacles for GID in Tehran.
(2) Root definition
According to Checkland and Scholes's (1999) definition and based on the CATWOE ana-
lysis performed, the root definition formulated for GID in Tehran metropolis for controlling
runoff is as follows: GID is a system for supporting sustainable flow of runoff in Tehran which
provides social, ecological, and aesthetic benefits to the society, reduces street water logging and
enhances landscape maintenance for the local governmental agencies, and brings about economic
benefits to the stakeholders (X), by means of developing suitable sorts of GI practices which are
easy to operate, manage, and integrate with the current spaces (Y), to decrease the tangible and
intangible damages of runoff and provides potential multi‐aspects benefits to the residents.
3.4 | Step 4: Create a visual conceptual system
We adopted the approach proposed by Nguyen et al. (2019) to achieve a more readable and
comprehensible conceptual system separating the key relationships between main stakeholders
and their activities (Appendix C). The key stakeholders were sorted based on the similarity of their
responsibilities and authorities. It is clear that the goal is to integrate GI practices with urban
context. As emphasized with the collaborators, integration of GI practices with urban areas not only
enhances natural hydrological networks but also brings about social and aesthetic benefits to the
city. To realize these relationships and activities, we tried to systematize the unstructured data
reflected in the rich picture. Another merit of this way of presenting information is that it is more
understandable and could be used for communication and education (Nguyen et al., 2019).
Conceptual system of activities for GID in Tehran is illustrated in Figure 3. This flowchart
shows necessary strategic activities for GID in Tehran metropolis. Participants believed that the
outcome of GID cannot be described in detail mostly because of unstructured available in-
formation. Therefore, the outcome was kept in abstract form rather than any quantitative one.
The conceptual system provided a comprehensive and concise framework of major factors in GID
in Tehran. According to Figure 3, the system consists of five main cores namely; programming,
studying, policy making, training and negotiation, and evaluation and monitoring to create a
comprehensive process of decision making for GID and cover possible future failures.
3.5 | Step 5: Comparing the systemized concept with the real world
situation
In Step 5, authors compared the results of systemized model with the real world to obtain
possible actions necessary for achieving a holistic perception for GID in Tehran. To avoid
complexity, first we compared the real world perception with systemized activities (Table 3).
Programing Evaluaon and monitoring
Study stakeholders’ Policy making

needs
Study urban
areas
Training of
Study suitable GI Stakeholders
pracces
Creaon of land use

suitability plan
Negoate with
stakeholders to
reach compromise
No Yes
Outcome
FIGURE 3 Conceptual system of activities for GIs development in Tehran
Then, the perceptions of the key stakeholders for these actions were compared with their role
in the systemized world to find out actions of the key stakeholders for integrating GIs practices
in the context of Tehran (Table 3).
In short, the main worries revolve around the lack of study on the residents and GI practices,
lack of financial supports, nonexistence of supportive regulations, the need for stakeholders
training, lack of proper data for investigations, and weak interaction between key stakeholders.
3.6 | Step 6: Identifying actions for change
This step involves identifying systematically feasible actions for change to the real system. The
feasibility indicates whether or not the potential actions for change are worth pursuing. Based
on the comparison made in the back step, the actions for change were proposed as separate
columns in Tables 3 and 4.
TABLE 3 Comparison of real world perceptions with systematized activities and possible actions for change
SAEEDI
Responsible
Real world perception Systemized activities Status Actions for change stakeholders
ET AL.
Different responses of stakeholders Study the perception of Matched, Need further • Studying stakeholders' Local agencies, TM, and
regarding GID the key stakeholders investigations and perception about GID researchers
about GID educations • Negotiate with the key
stakeholders
• Lack of the necessary regulations Policy making and Unmatched Need action • Provision of supportive TM, policy makers, and
and instructions for Monitoring the regulations for GID governmental
implementing GI regulations • Revising the current regulations agencies
• Some current regulation
hinders GID
Some practices of GI might not be Studying GIs performance Matched, Future • Studies about the proper types Researchers,
sustained climatically for a and adaptability investigations are of GI consultants TM
long term Evaluation needed • Evaluate the adaptability of GI
practices
Lack of awareness among stakeholders Education of stakeholders Matched, Future educations • Educating programs for the key TM, ENGOs, local
about the function and mechanism and policy making is stakeholders agencies, citizens, and
of GID needed researchers
Lack of knowledge about the suitable Study urban suitability for Matched, Future studies are • More research for identifying Researchers, consultants,
places of the city for GIs development needed suitable areas for GID governmental
implementation of GIs • Financial support of relevant agencies and TM
researches
There is no strategic planning for Programming Matched, urgent action is • Reaching a long term plan TM, consultants,
agencies to know priority areas needed for GID researchers
Natural Resource Modeling
Rapid urban growth and lack of open Identification of land use Matched, urgent action is • Strict regulation to prevent urban TM, consultants,
space available for GID suitability maps needed sprawl growth researchers, policy
for GID makers
|
(Continues)
15 of 26
TABLE 3 (Continued)
16 of 26
Responsible
|
Real world perception Systemized activities Status Actions for change stakeholders
There are unknown stakeholders that Negotiate with Unmatched, time is needed • Trying to negotiate with TM, decision makers, and
benefit from the current situation stakeholders and to identify unknown stakeholders and governmental
reaching compromise reaching compromise agencies
• Educate the key stakeholders
• Decision makers' lack of knowledge Education of the key Matched, education of • Stakeholders education, Researchers, ENGOs, TM,
about the benefits of GID, Decision stakeholders, stakeholders • Regulations need to ease the decision makers
makers won't trust new ideas evaluation and implementation of GI
• Managers' tendency for short term monitoring • doing research to reach a
projects that have short term effects long‐term plan for GID
• recruiting expert managers
GID needs social support and Stakeholders' educations, Matched, long term support Provision of long term plan for GID, TM, ENGOs, policy
acculturalization study and acculturalization Providing financial incentives makers
SAEEDI
ET AL.
TABLE 4 Key stakeholders, their worries, and possible actions for changes
Stakeholders Their belief Actions for changes
Residents Some residents worry about being in Selecting suitable practices after
vicinity of these projects due to some considering residents' worries,
possible problems Negotiation for reduction of
worrying, Supporting these beliefs
and granting subsidy for the
victim residents
Residents, Some stakeholders were not familiar Raising public awareness regarding
governmental with GI benefits and its application the importance of GID, Educate
agencies stakeholders about GID
Consultants, Limited data available for conducting Get the available data accessible for
researchers and research regarding GID researchers, Providing a
companies comprehensive data set
Researchers Communications between governmental Enhance interaction between
agencies and universities are not governmental agencies and
progressed enough to direct research faculties
projects
Consultants, Lack of financial support for conducting Support researcher and consultant
researchers and more research in this field financially
companies
Consultants Existence of some regulations Revising and easing the current
hindering GID regulation
Governmental agencies Lack of expert staff in GID Educate staff, Recruiting expert staff
Governmental agencies Lack of financial resources for Define new financial resources
monitoring GID efficacy
3.7 | Step 7: Compose actions for change
In the last step of SSM, practical actions elicited from the previous steps were composed based
on their similarities and formed the main components of GID in Tehran. The results of Step 7
are shown in Table 5.
As shown in Table 5, each component consists of one or several action for change.
These classifications were made based on the similarities between them. For example, The
component of Study and research (A1) comprised of six actions for change that have the
highest number of actions followed by components of Regulation (A4) and Financial support
(A6). The number of actions for change implies that these three components are superior to the
other component. However, to find better relationships between components, ISM was applied
in the next stage.
3.8 | Interpretive structural modeling
In the next phase, the ISM was used to map the model of relationships between the main
components introduced in the previous phase. The results of the survey formed the SSIM.
TABLE 5 Main components and actions for change to develop green infrastructures in Tehran
Components Actions for change Main contributors
A1 Study and research Studying Stakeholders' perception about Researchers and consultants
GID, studies about the proper types of
GI, evaluate the adaptability of GI
practices, more research for identifying
suitable areas for GID, reaching a long
term plan for GID, studying how to
solve stakeholders' worries
A2 Negotiate with Negotiate with the key stakeholders for Policy makers, governmental
stakeholders GID, Trying to negotiate with agencies
unknown stakeholders and reaching
compromise
A3 Training of stakeholders Train the key stakeholders, Stakeholders Researchers, consultants,
need to be familiar with innovations in ENGOs, and
runoff control Governmental agencies
A4 Regulation Provision of supportive regulations for Governmental agencies and
GID, revising the current regulations, policy makers
strict regulation to prevent urban
sprawl growth, regulations for
rehabilitation of rundown areas
A5 Managerial reformation Recruiting expert managers Governmental agencies,
knowledgeable about GID, providing policy makers
long term plans for GID, making
managers responsible about their
decisions
A6 Financial support Financial support of relevant research, Policy makers, governmental
providing financial incentives for GID, agencies
granting subsidy for the victim
stakeholders, financial support for
rehabilitation of rundown areas
A7 Acculturalization Raising public awareness regarding the Governmental agencies,
importance of GID, provision of proper ENGOs, and
Persian names for some GI practice governmental agencies
A8 Providing Get the available data accessible for Researchers, consultants,
comprehensive researchers, providing a and governmental
database comprehensive data set agencies
A9 Enhancing stakeholders' Enhance interaction between Governmental agencies
interaction governmental agencies, citizens,
ENGOs, and faculties
A10 Evaluation and Long term monitoring for evaluation of Governmental agencies
monitoring GID efficacy, enhancing long term
plans for GID
TABLE 6 The final reachability matrix
To convert the SSIM to the initial reachability matrix, the guidelines described in Appendix B were
followed. As mentioned earlier, there might be some inconsistencies between the relationships of
some components in the initial reachability matrix. Therefore, using Equation (1), these incon-
sistencies were fixed and the final reachability matrix was developed (Table 6). It is worth noting that
the summation of each row of Table 6 reflects the driving power on each component indicating how
much each component can influence other components. Furthermore, the summation of each col-
umn reflects the dependence power on each component meaning how much each component can
affect others. Taking a quick glance, A3, A5, A7, A8, A9, and A10 had the highest driving power (10)
and the lowest dependence power was seen for A6 while A1, A4, and A6 had the highest dependence
power and were considered as the most dependent components.
3.9 | Level of partition
Using the final reachability matrix (Table 6), reachability sets and antecedent sets for each
component were identified (Table 7). As mentioned in the Method section, the reachability set
consisted of the components that could influence a particular component whereas the ante-
cedent set comprised those components that a particular component may influence it.
3.10 | Formation of ISM‐based model
Based on the information of reachability set, antecedent set, and the instruction which was
elaborated in the Method section, the final ISM was developed as illustrated in Figure 4.
4 | DISCUS SION
This study utilized a combination of SSM and ISM to identify GID needs in the context of
Tehran metropolis. According to Shahabi et al. (2020), the combination of SSM and ISM
contributes greatly to face problems full of subjectivity, challenges, and complexity and identify
| 20 of 26
TABLE 7 The reachability, antecedent, and intersection sets and level for each of 10 components
Components Reachability Set Antecedents Set Intersection Set Level
A1 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A1 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A1 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 1
A2 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A10 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A10 2

A4 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A1 A2 A3 A4 A6 A8 A10 A1 A2 A3 A4 A6 A8 A10 2
A6 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A1 A2 A4 A6 A1 A2 A4 A6 2
A9 A1 A3 A5 A7 A8 A9 A10 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A1 A3 A5 A7 A8 A9 A10 3
SAEEDI
ET AL.
Acculturalizaon (A7) Managerial reformaon Training of stakeholders

(A5) (A3)
Evaluaon and Enhancing stakeholders’ Providing comprehensive

monitoring (A10) interacon (A9) database (A8)
Level three
Regulaon (A4) Financial support (A6)
Negoate with stakeholders (A2)

Level two
Study and research

Level one (A1)
FIGURE 4 Interpretive structural modelling‐based model for components
the internal relationships of variables. The result this study also indicated that SSM and ISM are
powerful methods for problem identification, and reaching a hierarchal plan for realizing GID.
The results demonstrate that SSM is a powerful modeling method for analyzing public
demands, recognizing stakeholders' perceptions, and determining the main constraints.
Furthermore, modeling with SSM clarified the current situation of GID in Tehran metropolis
and proposed actions to change the current situation for the better. As mentioned earlier, SSM
is a learning process through which researchers would learn more about problems, challenges,
and constraints that are difficult to be identified using analyses without systemizations.
Another merit of systemization with SSM is that it is possible for researchers to deal with a
problem from stakeholders' point of views. Therefore, using these approaches, it would be
possible to organize and simplify unstructured, scattered and complex stakeholders' informa-
tion (Cundill et al., 2012).
Authors agree with Nguyen et al. (2019) that extracting systemized information from
complicated real‐world situations is challenging and the quality of this information relies on
the level of stakeholders' engagement. So, holding in‐depth interviews with key stakeholders is
beneficial to discover their perception about the problem (Bunch, 2003).
The research also aimed at modeling the main components of GID for introducing a
framework for GID and analyzing the interrelations and correlations among them. To reach
this goal, an ISM approach was conducted based on experts' opinions to depict components'
relationships, interactions, and priorities. An illustration of these relationships was proposed in
the ISM hierarchy model (Figure 4).
As shown in Figure 4, the ISM has three main levels. Level one has one component namely
“study and research.” Study and research about the development of green infrastructures in the
Tehran provides a baseline for actualizing the level two of the ISM model namely “regulation,”
financial support,” and “negotiation with stakeholders.” In other words, the realization of the
components mentioned in level two depends on the component “study and research.”
Conducting more research contributes to introducing new regulations, wisely support projects,
and the way to negotiate with stakeholders. Similarly, to achieve the components falling in
level three namely “evaluating and monitoring,” “enhancing stakeholders' interactions,”
“providing comprehensive database,” “acculturalization,” “managerial reformation,” and
“training of stakeholders,” we need to actualize the components of level two first.
5 | CONCLUSION
The current study aimed to provide a framework for GID in the context of Tehran Metropolis
taking into account the opinions of the key stakeholders. The results identified the main
stakeholders, their relationships and responsibility, main obstacles for GID, and the con-
ceptual system of activities for GIs development in Tehran. The results of COTOWE analysis
also revealed the main customers, victims, actors, owners, and environmental restrictions.
Finally, based on the perceptions of stakeholders, actions for change in the current situation
were proposed and were categorized into the main components of GID in Tehran metropolis.
The research benefited from the advantages of ISM that provides an ordered framework for
complex problems and provides a realistic image of the situation and variables involved.
With the aid of ISM approach, an illustrative model of these relationships between the main
components of the green infrastructure development in Tehran was proposed. It is worth
noting that the solutions for GID proposed in this article are independent of GI solutions.
According to the model, taking actions for changes in the component of “study and re-
search” is the first step for GID in Tehran. The component of study and research provides
the necessary base for the step two components namely regulation, financial support, and
negotiation with stakeholders. Realization of the rest of the components including evalu-
ating and monitoring, enhancing stakeholders' interactions, providing comprehensive da-
tabase, acculturalization, management reform, and training of stakeholders depend on these
three components.
The current study has some limitations which can be addressed in future research. For
example, we mainly based our analysis on SSM and ISM approaches, which have their own
limitations. In these approaches, for instance, the results are highly dependent on the per-
ceptions of the expert team. Furthermore, the model proposed in this study is not statistically
representative due to the nature of qualitative research. However, Structural equation modeling
(SEM), also known as linear structural relationship approach, has the capability of testing the
validity of such hypothetical models which could be taken into consideration for future re-
search. Authors also note that the SSM and ISM with the data collection approach in this study
was proposed for discovering the community's perception.
A C K N O WL E D GEM E N T S
This study is a part of the Ph.D. dissertation of the first author who worked under
the supervision and advisory of the co‐authors. This study was supported by Gorgan
University of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources (student grant number:

9721194503).
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Iman Saeedi: Conceptualization (equal), data curation (lead), formal analysis (lead), metho-
dology (equal), investigation (equal), visualization (lead), writing original draft (lead). Ali Reza
Mikaeili Tabrizi: supervision (lead), conceptualization (equal), investigation (equal), Meth-
odology (equal), writing review and editing (equal), project administration (equal). Abdolreza
Bahremand: project administration (equal), supervision (equal), methodology (equal), con-
ceptualization (equal), writing review and editing (equal). Abdolrassoul Salmanmahiny:
project administration (equal), supervision (equal), methodology (equal), conceptualization
(equal), writing review and editing (equal).
ORCID
Iman Saeedi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8749-3829
Ali Reza Mikaeili Tabrizi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1219-0051
Abdolreza Bahremand https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5012-2653
Abdolrassoul Salmanmahiny https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5188-7356
ENDNOTE
1
Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization.
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How to cite this article: Saeedi, I., Mikaeili Tabrizi, A. R., Bahremand, A., &
Salmanmahiny, A. (2022). A Soft Systems Methodology and Interpretive Structural
Modeling Framework for Green Infrastructure Development to Control Runoff in Tehran
Metropolis. Natural Resource Modeling, 35, e12339. https://doi.org/10.1111/nrm.12339
APPENDIX A
See Table A1
T A B L E A1 The participants' profiles

Duration living in
Participants Age Degree Major Work place Tehran
Participant 1 38 Ph.D. Water Engineering Consultant More than 10 years
Participant 2 46 Ph.D. Environmental Planning, Faculty member More than 10 years
Management, and
Education
Participant 3 38 Ph.D. Land Use Planning Governmental Staff Between 6 and 10 years
Participant 4 48 Ph.D. Urban Planning Faculty member More than 10 years
Participant 5 39 Ph.D. Natural Resource Faculty member More than 10 years
Engineering
Participant 6 43 Ph.D. Water Resource Consultant More than 10 years
Management
Participant 7 56 Ph.D. Landscape Architecture Faculty member More than 10 years
Participant 8 45 Ph.D. Architecture Consultant More than 10 years
Participant 9 49 M. Sc. Water Engineering Contractor More than 10 years
Participant 10 39 Ph.D. Watershed Management Governmental Staff More than 10 years
Participant 11 38 M. Sc. Urban Design Environmental Between 6 and 10 years
activist
Participant 12 36 M. Sc. Environmental Design Environmental Between 6 and 10 years
activist
Participant 13 42 Ph.D. Urban Design Consultant More than 10 years
APPENDIX B
See Table B1
T A B L E B1 Guidelines for converting SSIM to the initial reachability matrix

Cell (i, j) in Cell (i, j) in the initial reachability Cell ( j, i) in the initial reachability
the SSIM matrix matrix
V 1 0
A 0 1
X 1 1
O 0 0
APPENDIX C
See Figure C1
Green infrastructures Cizens and NGOs
Cizens
Urban areas Construcon
Contractors Interacon
Study
Policy making
Researchers Policy makers and

local agencies
Consultant Interacon
companies
F I G U R E C1 Conceptual system of relationships between the key stakeholders for GIs development in
Tehran

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19397445, 2022, 2, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nrm.12339 by Jordan Hinari NPL, Wiley Online Library on [08/02/2023].

A soft systems methodology and interpretive

Iman Saeedi1 | Ali Reza Mikaeili Tabrizi1 |

Natural Resource Modeling. 2022;35:e12339. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/nrm | 1 of 26

current situation were proposed and categorized in 10

Recommendation for Resource Managers

1.1 | Soft approaches

1.2 | Soft systems methodology

FIGURE 1 Steps of soft systems methodology and interpretive structural modeling

1.3 | Interpretive structural modeling

2.1 | Study area

2.2.1 | Data collection

2.2.2 | Soft systems methodology

2.2.3 | Interpretive structural modeling

We designed an ISM‐based questionnaire to elicit participants' tacit knowledge regarding

SSIM = Boolean(An −1 = An ) (1)

2.3 | Validity and reliability of the study

3.1 | Step 1: Problem identification

Study Negave impact

Researchers Researchers Contractors

3.2 | Step 2: Rich picture development

The main stakeholders of GID in Tehran comprised of residents, governmental agencies

3.3 | Step 3: Create systemized model

(1) CATWOE analysis

(2) Root definition

3.4 | Step 4: Create a visual conceptual system

Programing Evaluaon and monitoring

Study stakeholders’ Policy making

Creaon of land use

FIGURE 3 Conceptual system of activities for GIs development in Tehran

3.6 | Step 6: Identifying actions for change

3.7 | Step 7: Compose actions for change

3.8 | Interpretive structural modeling

TABLE 6 The final reachability matrix

3.9 | Level of partition

3.10 | Formation of ISM‐based model

A2 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A10 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A10 2

Acculturalizaon (A7) Managerial reformaon Training of stakeholders

Evaluaon and Enhancing stakeholders’ Providing comprehensive

Regulaon (A4) Financial support (A6)

Negoate with stakeholders (A2)

Study and research

FIGURE 4 Interpretive structural modelling‐based model for components

University of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources (student grant number:

T A B L E A1 The participants' profiles

T A B L E B1 Guidelines for converting SSIM to the initial reachability matrix

Green infrastructures Cizens and NGOs

Urban areas Construcon

Researchers Policy makers and

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