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The Community Open Space Partnership (COSP) is a
broad-based network for local action. COSP is a diverse
network of citizen activists, business and civic leaders, public
agency representatives, non-profits, and resources managers. COSP
seeks to move beyond existing community park and natural area
systems. We envision a comprehensive network of open spaces in and
around cities that enhances economic vitality, sustains natural
systems, connects people to the natural world, and increases
individual and community well-being. We call this network green
infrastructure.
While other conservation groups are actively
working to protect green infrastructure at the edges of cities and
in rural areas, COSP is actively working at a statewide level to
plan for and implement green infrastructure within urban and
urbanizing areas and to connect rural open spaces with urban open
spaces. Our mission is to improve the biological, social, and
economic health of communities across Wisconsin through advocacy,
public education, and coalition development.
Specifically, the Community Open Space Partnership
will:
- Strengthen local, state, and
federal urban green infrastructure policies, in part through the
development of Wisconsin' Green Infrastructure for Tomorrow Plan;
- Increase public understanding of
the ecological, social, and economic importance of green
infrastructure and the potential for urban green infrastructure in
Wisconsin
- Encourage full participation in
land use reform and planning
- Support the creation, protection,
and management of a planned network of open spaces in urban and
urbanizing landscapes
- Build relationships and promote the
sharing of information between members (through the Virtual
Resource Center and other venues) to foster effective and
innovative partnerships & strategies.
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