Presentation given by Chuck Flink, 10.21.09

1. Greenways as Green
Infrastructure
Charles A. Flink, Fellow, American Society of Landscape
Architects
President, Greenways Incorporated

2. What is Infrastructure?
• ”The basic installations and facilities on
which the continued growth of a
community, state, etc. depend, (such)
as roads, schools, power plants,
transportation and communication
systems."
» Webster Dictionary

3. What is Green Infrastructure?
• The native/natural green spaces of our
communities:
– Creeks, streams, rivers & lakes
– Forested lands
– Prairie lands
– Ridge lines
– Wetlands
– Habitats for native plants and animals
• The natural systems and ecological
processes that sustain all life on our planet

4. Why is Green Infrastructure
Important?
• Defines our quality of life
• Shapes growth patterns
• Protects water resources
• Absorbs flood waters
• Cleans our air
• Is home to native species
• Determines our identity and sense of place

5. Multi-Objective Greenways
Growth
Growth
Management
Management
Floodplain
Floodplain
Stewardship
Stewardship Management
Management
Greenways
Greenways
Alternative
Alternative Water Quality
Water Quality
Transportation
Transportation Protection
Protection
Economic
Economic
Development
Development

6. Greenspace: An Afterthought in
Community Planning &
Development

7. Patterns of Growth Define our
Communities We are building a
collection of
neighborhoods -
not sustainable
communities.

8. Greenways can help Shape
Patterns of Growth

9. The Value of Conservation
“Smart conservation is just as important
as smart growth. Smart conservation is
proactive, large-scale and coordinated. We
need to think of open space as a form of
infrastructure, just as we think of roads as
infrastructure. It must be viewed as a
necessity, not an amenity. It must be
preserved through a public investment,
not leftover money. And, it must be
preserved as a connected, contiguous
system, not fragmented and preserved in
isolation.
– Ed McMahon, Senior Fellow, Urban Land Institute, 2005

10. Greenprints for Growth
What is a Greenprint?
“Just as you would not
build a house without a
Blueprint, we should not
continue to build our
communities without a
Greenprint.”

11. Greenprints for Growth
Kansas City
Detroit Metro
Metro

12. Case Study: Charleston, South
Carolina
Charleston, SC

13. Charleston County
Comprehensive Greenbelts Plan
Summary of Final Plan Recommendations
Charleston County • Greenways Inc • White & Smith, llc

14. Charleston Greenbelt Vision
“Cities and Villages Surround by
Green”

15. Charleston County Greenprint
Protect and Conserve 40,000 acres

16. Greenways connect us with the
Outdoors, Popular
Destinations, and Each Other

17. Benefits of Bicycling & Walking
Q: When you tour the nation,
what are people telling you
they want changed in their
communities?
A: People want alternative
forms of transportation, they
don’t want to own two or
three cars. And they want
green space, biking and
walking paths, but they
want the amenities too –
access to shopping, Interview with US DOT
restaurants, health care. Secretary Ray LaHood,
October 2009, AARP Bulletin

18. Solutions to Transportation
Congestion
Offer an equivalent
quality choice
Improve
transportation
efficiency

19. Underserved Populations?
• Children of America
have few options
within the current
transportation system
• Elderly are also
challenged in today’s
transportation system

20. Case Study: Jacksonville, North
Carolina
Jacksonville,
NC

22. Mode Share - Bicycling
Bicycle Commuter Percentages

23. Plan Maps

24. Onslow Drive

26. Case Study: Grand Canyon
National Park, Arizona
Grand Canyon
National Park, AZ

27. Heritage Education Campus
Light Rail System
Grand Canyon
General
Management Plan
Canyon View Information Plaza
Greenway System

28. Grand Canyon Greenway
5 million annual visitors are
creating traffic jams, noise, exhaust
fumes and overcrowding.

29. Grand Canyon Greenway
2001 American Society of
Landscape Architects Merit
Award in Planning and
Design

30. Grand Canyon Greenway
The Greenway is part of a
new transportation
solution for Grand
Canyon National Park

31. Grand Canyon Greenway

32. The Centers for Disease
Control estimates that
nearly one million
Americans become ill
every year, 900 of them
fatally, because of
polluted drinking water.
And these numbers are
increasing.
Greenways Protects our Water

33. Impact of Urban Growth on
Water Resources
While human
population grows,
fresh water supply
remains constant
Degraded streams and
rivers leads to degraded
water quality for everyone.

34. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County
Greenway Plan

35. Greenways: Protecting Source
Water

36. Greenways: Protecting Source
Water

37. Reducing the Impacts of
Flooding
“Come Hell and
High Water”

38. Cost of Flooding
• Each year, on average,
100 Americans die and
more than $2 billion in
damages is caused from
flooding of
communities.
• 90% of all US natural
disasters result from
flooding.
• Flooding of homes and
businesses is
preventable through
proper community
planning and
development.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2005

39. Case Study: Louisville,
Kentucky
Louisville, KY

40. Greenprint: Louisville, KY
Louisville & Jefferson
County Metropolitan
Sewer District

41. MSD Greenway Program
C OR N ERS TO N E
2 0 2 0
Louisville and Jefferson
County Comprehensive Plan
Louisville & Jefferson County
Multi-Objective Stream
Corridor/Greenway Plan
Phase 3 Implementation:
DRAFT
LEGAL Article 13
Floodplain
Regulations
July 1996
INSTRUMENT Apr oject of the Gr eenways
Advisory Committee
Funded by the Metr opolitan
Sewer District

42. MSD Greenway Program
The highest and best
use of floodplain
land is for the
storage of flood
waters

43. Case Study: Grand Forks, North
Dakota
Grand Forks, ND

44. Grand Forks Greenway
Spring 1997

45. Grand Forks Greenway

46. Greater Grand Forks
Greenway Master Plan

47. Cabelas, East Grand Forks, MN

48. Revenue Projections
Greater Grand Forks Greenway
Fishing Camping Picnicking Watch Wildlife
Skiing Racing

49. Annual Revenue
Projections for
Greenway
Base Dollars
Base Dollars Total Dollars
Total Dollars
(multiplier effect)
(multiplier effect)
Direct Revenue
Direct Revenue $28,860
$28,860 $50,148
$50,148
Indirect Revenue
Indirect Revenue $600,660
$600,660 $1,081,188
$1,081,188
Community Revenue $8,580,863
Community Revenue $8,580,863 $15,445,553
$15,445,553
Grand Totals
Grand Totals $9,209,383
$9,209,383 $16,576,889
$16,576,889

50. Grand Forks Greenway
50,000 attended first
Greenway Day in 2003

51. Grand Forks Greenway, N. Dakota

52. Grand Forks Greenway -
Press

53. Greenways: Investment &
Return

54. Greenways Attracts Business
The way in which
communities
managed natural
resources
matters to the
business
community.
Health care is one of
the leading concerns of
American business

55. Research Triangle Park, NC
“Investing in our
greenway system has
made us more
competitive in the
market place, and in
fact is one reason that
companies choose to
locate in the Park.”
Elizabeth Rooks, Vice President for
Development, Research Triangle
Foundation of North Carolina

56. Real estate values improve
with proximity to greenspace
National Homebuilders Association -
residential properties will realize a 10 to
20% gain in value the closer they are
located to greenspace

57. Greenspace as an attraction to
new home buyers
The Greenway
lots were the first
ones to sell.
The developer sold
lots adjacent to the
Greenway for a
$5,000 premium.

58. Greenspace = Greenbacks ($)
Greenway systems generate
millions each year in new
revenue from local tourism
operations. Many systems
will return $3 in revenue
for every $1 in expenditure
invested.

59. Case Study: Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

60. Northern Delaware River
Greenway

61. Northern Delaware River
Greenway

62. Northern Delaware River
Greenway

63. Northern Delaware River
Greenway

64. Northern Delaware River
Greenway

65. Case Study: Miami River
Greenway
Miami, FL

66. Miami River Greenway,
Florida
2001 Award of Excellence
NC Chapter of ASLA

67. Miami River Greenway Florida

68. Miami River Greenway,
Florida

69. Miami Riverwalk, Florida

70. Fundamentally, Greenways are about
connections between people and the
land.

71. Greenways can be used to restore the
important functional qualities of natural
infrastructure

72. Greenways can educate new generations
about the importance of a sustainable
lifestyle

73. Greenways Leave a Legacy
for Future Generations
“To build a Greenway is
“To build a Greenway is
to build a Community”
to build a Community”
Charles Little
Charles Little