Greenway Literature

Throughout the fall semester, the Consortium has been trying to compile an up-to-date listing of greenway literature that has been published within the past three years. The following is a list of articles found in a variety of publications. We have tried to provide an abstract for each of the articles and have noted the journals where these articles could be found. If you are aware of any other recent articles that have been published within the past three years concerning greenways, please let us know and we would be happy to add it to the list!

THEORY AND RESEARCH

Lindsey G., Maraj M., and Kuan S., “Access, equity, and urban greenways: An exploratory investigation,” Professional Geographer, Vol. 53, No. 3, pp. 332-346, August 2001.

Recurring issues in the social sciences concern the distribution of public facilities such as parks and equity of access to them. Geographers have observed that access has perceptual as well as physical dimensions and that perceptions of difference can affect use of public space. This study explores the nature of greenways as public space and a set of issues related to equity of access to greenway trails in Indianapolis, Indiana. The study uses proximity as a measure of access and simple GIS analyses of census and other data to assess equality of access. Evidence is provided that suggests that minorities and the poor have disproportionate access to trails. It is shown that populations adjacent to trails differ and that the populations along particular trails are segregated. Spatial differences in trail populations are associated with historic land use patterns and population movements within the city. The implications of the findings of difference for use of the greenways system are explored. Implications for management of the greenways systems -- including achievement of the goal of linking neighborhoods -- are also discussed.

Lindsey G., Knaap G., “Willingness to pay for urban greenway projects,” Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 65, No.3, pp. 297-313, Summer 1999.

This article reports the results of an experiment to estimate the value of an urban greenway and to test the validity of contingent valuation (CV), and discusses the implications of the results for greenway planning. The experiment concerned people’s willingness to pay (WTP) for greenway projects in a publicly designated greenway in Indianapolis, Indiana, that is mostly in private ownership.

Fausold, Charles J., Lilieholm, Robert J., “The Economic Value of Open Space: A Review and Synthesis,” Environmental Management, Vol. 23, No.3, pp. 307-320, April 1999.

Communities increasingly face development pressures that can irreversibly alter open space lands. While the monetary costs and benefits of development are typically known, the corresponding values of natural lands are complex and difficult to measure. This paper reviews different concepts of economic value in relation to open space, describes methods for quantifying these values, and presents examples of each from published literature.

Platt, Kevin, “City Greenways,” Urban Land, Vol. 58, no.3, pp.44-49, March 1999.

ECOLOGY

Hoctor TS, Carr MH, Zwick PD, “Identifying a linked reserve system using a regional landscape approach : The Florida ecological network”, Conservation Biology, August 2000.

This report provides an analysis of potential ecological connectivity to identify areas with priority conservation significance and landscape linkages as part of a state of Florida program called Greenways. This is the latest step in the state's design and protection of a reserve system based on an aggressive land acquisition program. We used geographic information systems software (Arc-Info) to develop a decision support model that uses land-use data and information on significant ecological areas-including important habitats for target species, priority ecological communities, wetlands, roadless areas, floodplains, and important aquatic systems-to identify larger areas of ecological priority and potential ecological linkages. The result of this process, the Florida Ecological Network, includes approximately half the state's area, with over half of this network already in conservation lands or public-domain water. This network could provide a linked statewide reserve system containing most of each major ecological community and most known occurrences of rare species.

DESIGN AND IMPLIMENTATION

Viles RL, Rosier DJ, “How to use roads in the creation of greenways: case studies in three New Zealand landscape”, Landscape and Urban Planning, Vol. 55, No.1, pp.15-27, June 15, 2001.

Roads have traditionally been taken for granted due to their economic and social significance as transportation and utility corridors. They can also have a significant impact on the environment by transversing areas of wildlife habitat, and are one of the most destructive elements in the habitat fragmentation process. This study analyses the degree to which the 'greenway' and 'connectivity' concepts can be applied in an integrated approach to managing road reserves and the adjacent landscape to facilitate the extension of ecological corridors and mitigate adverse environmental effects of the roading network. While the New Zealand landscape and road networks are currently managed independently, the study found that there is potential opportunity to use the New Zealand road network as greenways to achieve partial integration between conservation and land use systems. A coordinated approach between conservation managers, road construction and management authorities, local government, utility managers, landowners and others who have interests in roadside management is necessary if integration is to be successful. Changes are also needed in the design of roads within reserve areas so that road safety requirements are augmented by consideration of the character of the landscape matrix and the needs of species moving through the landscape.

Weber T., Wolf J., “Maryland’s Green Infrastructure – Using landscape assessment tools to identify a regional conservation strategy”, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 63, No.1,pp. 265-277, July 2000.

Maryland is growing at a very rapid pace. Compounding the problems associated with rapid growth is the scattered pattern of development that consumes an excessive amount of land and fragments the landscape. As land use changes, wildlife habitat and migration corridors are lost and normal ecosystem functions are disturbed or destroyed. While land use planners and developers are attempting to minimize such impacts, they do not always know where key natural lands and corridors are situated. The Green Infrastructure Assessment (GIA) provides this information and can be used to identify a greenway network that will protect the most critical lands in the state before they are gone forever. Using GIS and principals of landscape ecology, the Maryland Department of Natural resources is identifying an interconnected network of “hubs” and “corridors” that are now the focus of state and local agency deliberations and revisions. Elements of the network are being prioritized for conservation and restoration based on ecological parameters (e.g. sensitive species, important wetlands or riparian zones, etc.) and threat parameters (e.g. protection status, development pressure, etc.). The goal of GIA is to help identify and ecologically sound open space network, and ultimately, to incorporate the agreed upon network into state and local land conservation planning.