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• Endangered Species Protection -
<br />Conservationists originally focused on
<br />preserving individual species and their
<br />habitat. Today, there is an emphasis on
<br />habitat conservation areas that protect
<br />multiple species and link isolated pre-
<br />serves.
<br />• Public Health Concerns -More than
<br />50 percent of U.S. adults are overweight
<br />and nearly 18 percent are obese. The
<br />Centers (or Disease Control and Preven-
<br />tion have recommended more places to
<br />walk and bicycle as an antidote to inac-
<br />tive lifestyles.'
<br />• "Close-to-Home" Green Space -
<br />Mote homebuyers today favor housing
<br />developments that include green space,
<br />biking and pedestrian paths, and natural
<br />areas. Editor's Note: For mare on this, see
<br />the section on green space as a residential
<br />amenity in McMahon's "Smart Growth
<br />Trends" coitunn in PCJ u33 (Winter 1999).
<br />• Urban Revitalization -Strategies for
<br />revitalizing urban cores are increasingly
<br />emphasizing the value of natural areas
<br />within the city such as waterways, parks,
<br />and other green corridors.
<br />• Sustainable Development -Growing
<br />public interest in so-called "green" or
<br />sustainable development is reflected in
<br />emphasis on multi-modal transportation
<br />planning, support for bicycle and pedes-
<br />trian facilities, and other policies aimed
<br />at reducing fossil fuel consumption.
<br />The systems planning approach
<br />focuses on creating a comprehensive and
<br />interrelated system of parks, recreation
<br />areas, open spaces, and greenways that:
<br />respond to locally-based needs, values,
<br />and conditions; provide an appealing and
<br />harmonious environment; and protect
<br />the integrity and quality of surrounding
<br />natural systems.
<br />This approach is now being consid-
<br />ered by local governments all over the
<br />country. For example, Montgomery
<br />County, Maryland has just proposed a 10
<br />year, $100 million initiative to complete a
<br />county-wide network of open space com-
<br />prised of protected farmland, stream val-
<br />ley parks, ecological reserves, trail
<br />corridors, and greenspace preserves.
<br />Likewise, Cleveland Metroparks is com-
<br />posed of 14 largely undeveloped wood-
<br />land reservations totaling almost 20,000
<br />acres, linked by a network of parkways,
<br />bike trials, and streamcorridors. This
<br />system accommodates over 40 million
<br />visitors a year and is often referred to as
<br />Cleveland's Emerald Necklace. Similar
<br />open space systems are being developed
<br />in big and small communities nation-
<br />wide.
<br />WHAT DOES GREEN
<br />INFRASTRUCTURE LOOK LIKE?
<br />Dr. Mark Benedict of the National
<br />Conservation Training Center in Shep-
<br />herdstown, West Virginia (and former
<br />Director of the Florida Greenways Pro-
<br />gram) says green infrastructure encom-
<br />passes awide variety of natural and
<br />restored native ecosystems and landscape
<br />features that make up a system of "hubs"
<br />and "links."
<br />Hubs
<br />Green infrastructure hubs come in all
<br />shapes and sizes and serve different pur-
<br />poses. For example:
<br />• Reserves -Large protected areas,
<br />such as national wildlife refuges or state
<br />parks, serve as primary sites for conserv-
<br />ing biological diversity and natural
<br />3 Centers (or Disease Control research, published in
<br />the Oc[. 13 1999 issue of the Journal of the American
<br />Medical Association, Eound [hat obesity (defined as j~i"
<br />being over 30 percent above ideal body weight) 'W
<br />accoun[s Eor more than 300,000 premature deaths ~W
<br />each year in the U.S., second only to tobacco-related
<br />deaths. The proportion of the population classified as
<br />obese increased from 12 percent in 1991 to V.9 per-
<br />cent in 1998. According to le(frey P. Koplau, Direttor
<br />of the CDC, "obesity is an epidemic and should be -
<br />[aken seriously ., urban policymakers must provide
<br />more sidewalks, bike paths, and other al[ernadves m
<br />cars Iasi resmring physical activity to our daily rou-
<br />tlnes is cnd<al "
<br />resources such as fisheries and fresh
<br />water. Reserves can also protect impottant
<br />historical and cultural sites, and provide
<br />nature-based recreation opportunities.
<br />• Managed Native Landscapes -Large
<br />publicly owned lands, such as our system
<br />of National and State Forests, managed for
<br />resource extraction as well as natural and
<br />recreational values.
<br />• Agricultural Preservation Districts -
<br />A number of states have recognized the
<br />importance of protecting large blocks of
<br />contiguous working farmland. This mini-
<br />mizes conflicts between farmers and
<br />suburban homeowners while providing
<br />farm machinery and seed dealers with
<br />the critical mass of farmland they need to
<br />stay in business.
<br />continued on Page 6
<br />BOSt011'S
<br />~Em¢rald
<br />Necklace
<br />Boston's "EmeraldNecklace,"
<br />a systempf interoonnected parks,.namral.
<br />areas; drives, and. promenades, was
<br />designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, one
<br />o(Amedca's earliesq and most prominent,
<br />landscape architects. The greenbelt
<br />extends in a nine-mile long semi-circle.
<br />around the heart of Boston. For. over one
<br />hundred yeazs it has provided residents
<br />andvisitors relief from the pollution,
<br />noise; and stress of city life. The Emerald
<br />Necklace, and its cousins in other cifies
<br />across the country, continue to demon- -
<br />suate Ihelong-term benefits that planned
<br />green infrasttucmre can provide Eor met-
<br />ropolitan areas.
<br />~~ .~,
<br />+n;. ... Vim"
<br />..-..
<br />3y
<br />~ti
<br />PLANNING COMMISSIONERS JOURNAL / NUMBER 37 / WINTER 2000
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