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Following the Brundtland Commission in 1987 (United Nation, 1987), numerous reports have condemned the impact of human activities on the environment, with the result that “sustainable development” has become a major issue for society. The move towards creating more sustainable cities, as described in the New Charter of Athens (ECTP, 2003), is a clear reflection of these concerns. The present article examines this final category of alternative techniques, focusing on urban stormwater management systems, which are designed to avoid the problems rainwater runoff can cause in urban environments, such as erosion of urban surfaces, floods, traffic disruption, and disruption to urban activities in general. More precisely, the barriers of uptake of innovation for sustainability in urban stormwater management systems are discussed.JEL Codes: Q01, Q25, R, L32, H75