DESIGNING GREENWAYS

DESIGNING GREENWAYS

SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES FOR NATURE AND PEOPLE

Greenways and Landscape Integrity: An Overview Greenways are being designated in cities and countrysides throughout North America and elsewhere. Sometimes these conservation areas are a response to environmental problems, such as flooding or degrading water quality. Other times their creation is an act of pure vision—people imagining a better community—one where people and natural processes coexist more closely. Often, despite this recent popularity, people fail to recognize the full range of contributions greenways can make to society and the environment. It is as if open spaces, especially in metropolitan areas, have been thought of as just so much generic greenery, mere backdrops for people’s activities. 1

Paul Cawood Hellmund & Daniel Somers Smith