The open spaces and greenways preserved in our urban and suburban neighborhoods and along the city’s fringe provide patches of scenic beauty accessed by paved or natural pathways and trails that connect neighborhoods, parks, and wilderness areas.
Open Space and Greenway plans provide pleasant amenities desired in most communities. They encourage walking, jogging, and bicycling, which relates to improved health as well as community appearance. They also represent a place where casual meet-ups allow diverse members of the community to interact in a pleasant environment reserved as public spaces for all.
We work alongside community members to help municipalities develop open space plans that will preserve our wetlands, wilderness corridors, rivers, drainage ways, flood plains, and animal habitats. We sponsor other activities related to open space meant to help:
- Encourage development codes that help preserve major drainage ways, wildlife corridors, wetlands, and hillsides
- Provide support to residents concerned with insensitive development proposals in or near unspoiled landscapes
- Encourage ways to minimize negative impacts of road development through support of context-sensitive design and promoting scenic byways
- Advocate for walkable neighborhoods with enhanced public transportation in the urban core to guard against sprawl into natural opens spaces on the fringe
- Seek grants to assist municipalities in protecting open spaces and connecting trails
- Work with partners to provide community forums with experts speaking on urban design and the elements necessary for successful communities
- Assist residents with the protection of special places under some threat either from development, neglect, or inappropriate uses