Urban Planning Definition Within the framework of natural water retention measures (NWRM), urban planning refers to the application of the "Grey to Green" principle within cities. The specific focus of urban planning for NWRM is to achieve sustainable water management by mimicking natural functions and processes in the urban environment. Read more about Urban Planning
Transaction cost Definition Efforts (either monetary outlays or consumption of any other resources, such as time) of administering, monitoring, and enforcing a NWRM. Policy-making involves political costs that are absent in private exchanges. Read more about Transaction cost
Resource cost Definition The cost linked the economic or relative scarcity of water once it is used. Read more about Resource cost
Opportunity cost Definition Value of those alternatives foregone when implementing a NWRM. Read more about Opportunity cost
Sunk cost Definition Those expenditures that, once committed, cannot be (easily) recovered. These costs arise because some activities require specialized assets that cannot be readily diverted to other uses. Read more about Sunk cost
Multiplier effect Definition Factor of proportionality that shows how much spending in a NWRM may induce direct or indirect changes in macroeconomic variables, such as income, employment, investment, etc. It is another way of referring to wider economic impacts of NWRM. Read more about Multiplier effect
Equivalent Annual Cost Definition The cost per year of implementing a NWRM over its entire lifespan. EAC is used when comparing NWRMs of unequal lifespans. It is estimated through listing all capital expenditures and when they are incurred; calculating the net present value of expenditures, once discounted; and converting this net present value into an annuity Read more about Equivalent Annual Cost
Externality Definition (either positive or negative). Third-party effect or welfare impact, which is both unilateral (i.e. one cannot decide neither whether to suffer it or not nor how much impact to bear), and non-compensated. In other words, an externality stemming from the implementation of a NWRM is a cost (if negative) or a benefit (if positive), which is not directly reflected in the direct costs or benefits of the NWRM but are one of its outcomes. It is a welfare variation expressed in monetary units. Read more about Externality
Financial cost Definition The (monetary) value of resources deployed for the implementation of any NWRM, which includes upfront capital expenditures, either from new investments or the replacement of assets in past investments; depreciation allowances (annualised cost or replacing the accounting value of existing assets in the future); operating expenditures (those incurred to keep the NWRM running in an efficient manner); maintenance expenditures (for preserving existing or new assets in good functioning order throughout their useful life); and decommissioning costs (those incurred at the end of the lifecycle of the NWRM). Read more about Financial cost
Environmental cost Definition Negative impacts connected with the actual or potential degradation of natural assets or environmental quality due to economic activities. Read more about Environmental cost