Prevalence of Ecological, Environmental, and Societal Objectives in Urban Greenway Master Plans

Abstract

The longstanding emphasis on community and public health benefits provided by urban greenways has been joined by growing interests in their environmental and ecological values and benefits, including their role as urban habitat and their ability to enhance connectivity across urban landscapes. Here we examine how environmental, ecological, and societal values were integrated into greenway planning documents from 29 major cities throughout the southeastern United States. Utilizing a qualitative assessment rubric to score the degree to which different greenway functions were integrated into each planning document, we identified specific design objectives and goals as well as broader, more descriptive content about greenways and their benefits. While all of the greenway plans touched on a diverse suite of benefits, those functions associated with community development were integrated into specific planning targets far more frequently and in much greater detail, with functions such as improving recreational opportunities, physical health of users, and local economic development specifically mentioned in more 90 percent of all plans. In contrast, an average of 44 percent of the rubric's biodiversity functions were present in the greenway planning documents. Further, while plans often cited potential greenway benefits, they less commonly discussed how intended greenway services would be achieved or methods that would be used to quantify success through long term monitoring and assessments, particularly of species populations. This disparity in the presence and quality of functions in greenway plans illustrates the challenges inherent in managing the needs of both humans and the natural world.