Comprehensive Benefit Evaluation of Pervious Pavement Based on China’s Sponge City Concept

Sponge cities provide broad hydrological functions to alleviate urban flooding and other water-related problems in China. Conventional impervious paving cannot meet contemporary sustainable city goals. The permeable paving technology offers primary benefits such as increasing stormwater infiltration, drainage, purification, groundwater recharge, and microclimatic amelioration. Few studies have evaluated the embracive range of benefits and the social functions holistically. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive benefit evaluation system to cover a broad range of indicators. Nineteen indicators were selected based on the literature review, field studies, and research experience. Organized in a three-tiered hierarchical structure, they were divided into environmental, economic, and social benefits. A grey intuitionistic fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model was built by combining intuitionistic fuzzy analysis with a grey comprehensive evaluation. The computational tools could determine the differential weights of indicators and benefit scores. Taking an example of a permeable pavement project in Quanzhou City, the comprehensive benefits were assessed and validated using our evaluation model. The results show that (1) the comprehensive benefits of the project met the economic feasibility criteria with advantages over conventional paving; (2) the environmental benefits were prominently expressed; (3) the social benefits were assessed and confirmed. The results verified the feasibility and applicability of the quantitative-qualitative model. The method could permit the integrated and systematic benefit assessment of permeable paving designs. It also provides guidance and reference to evaluate the performance of permeable pavements and their comprehensive range of benefits. The findings could reference choosing and refining designs, optimizing the benefits, and promoting a science-oriented development of permeable paving.