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1. Inventory the "components" of green
infrastructure in your community. Start with:
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Parks
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Natural areas/arboretums
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Trails and bike/pedestrian pathways
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Lakes, ponds, rivers, streams
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Detention basins
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Community Parks
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Outdoor recreation facilities (ball fields, etc)
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Skateboard parks, business plazas
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Social centerpieces (playgrounds, pedestrian malls,
etc)
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Community Gardens
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Other
2. Having first identified
green infrastructure that currently exists, can you
find opportunities for future green infrastructure
developments?
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Large tracts of unbuilt land
(state owned, hospitals, seminaries, utility
companies, etc)
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Large tracts of
contaminated land (blighted industrial corridors,
RR corridors)
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Vacant, tax delinquent
properties
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River, stream, creek
corridors, steep slopes, wetlands, hydric soils,
environmental corridors
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DOT construction remnants
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Land for sale with
dilapidated housing, commercial or industrial
structures
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Streetscapes of key
pedestrian/bicycle connections (around and through
university campuses, commercial corridors, etc)
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Floodplains
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Other?
3. What elements
of green infrastructure are currently provided for
by the places within your green infrastructure
network?
|
Element |
Examples of places |
Examples of functions
provided |
|
Human Health |
Parks; Trails; Game
courts and athletic fields; School yards;
Urban forests; Scenic vistas; Flower beds;
Healing gardens |
Encourage exercise and
active lifestyles; Provide outdoor space for
activities for all ages; Create appealing
visual landscapes; Offer places of solitude
and respite.
|
|
Ecology |
Conservation corridors;
Natural areas; Rain gardens; Vegetative
buffers (bioswales); Detention ponds; Tree
canopy. |
Protect water, air, and
soil; Manage stormwater; Provide habitat for
wildlife; Protect or restore native
communities; Reduce urban heat islands;
Reclaim brownfields.
|
|
Economy |
Streetscapes; Bike
lanes; Conservation subdivisions; Co-housing
communities; Corporate parks; Community
Gardens |
Attract and retain
residents, businesses, and employees; Connect
businesses and residents/pedestrians; Increase
residential and business property tax base;
Increase retail sales; Offer alternative
transportation.
|
|
Culture & Society |
Performance spaces;
Historic sites; Public art; Cemeteries; Skate
board parks; Outdoor markets; Community
gardens; Beaches; Festival grounds |
Interpret and share
environmental and cultural identities; Foster
community identity and pride; Provide low cost
nutritious food; Encourage community events;
Target programming to include youth, seniors,
and families.
|
|
Education |
Interpretive sites;
Zoos; Museums; Botanical gardens; Nature
centers |
Foster formal and
informal education; Provide spaces for
experimental education; Use nature as a
classroom; Involve citizens in resource
stewardship.
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(Bear in mind that some
places and functions apply to more than one element.
These lists are to serve as a guide to stimulate
your thinking rather than as a list of fixed
examples. Also, some examples will be more
visible at certain scales, and not visible at
others, e.g., small parcels may appear only on
neighborhood maps.)
4. What elements
could be provided if that network were
improved/developed?
5. How well does the
green infrastructure network, as a whole:
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Enhance your community's
economic vitality?
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Sustain your community's
natural systems?
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Connect people to the
natural world?
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Increase individual and
community well being?
6. How could your
community's green infrastructure network (as a whole)
be improved to better address the economic,
environmental, social, cultural, and health needs of
your community and its residents?
7. What individuals,
groups, or governmental bodies in your community
work on open space or related issues (e.g.,
planning, landscape architecture, etc.)? Are
they involved in the Community Open Space
Partnership? Encourage them to visit the
COSP Virtual Resource Center
at or call 608-255-9877 for more information
about COSP.
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