Green Infrastructure

The Oxford Dictionary defines “infrastructure” as, “the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society.” Typically we think of infrastructure as power lines, roads, water lines, and other “hard” features as well as social infrastructure such as schools, libraries, and hospitals. While the term green infrastructure (GI) has been used to describe single elements such as stormwater detention basins, a broader definition has been adopted by many communities. Green infrastructure, in this broad view, refers to an interconnected network of natural areas and other open spaces that conserves natural ecosystem values and functions, sustains clean air and water, and provides a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife (Benedict & McMahon, 2006). By stressing interconnectedness and societal benefits green infrastructure goes beyond the term ‘green space’ which refers to something that is nice to have and instead implies something that we must have (2006). It is important to note though that some choose to distinguish between, “natural green infrastructure – forests, grasslands, wetlands, creeks and other waterways which, in addition to providing habitat, serve some important environmental services for us, like cleaning our air and water – and engineered green infrastructure, i.e., human-designed devices that mimic nature in function, or strive to reduce their impact on ecological systems and function.” The two complementary strategies, they say, can “green” a community by first, preserving as much as possible of the natural green infrastructure; and secondly, promoting designs that soften the footprint of development [with engineered green infrastructure]” (Rutherford, 2007).

The purpose of green infrastructure planning and regulation can be parceled into two categories: broad-scale (which typically relies more on natural GI) and site-specific (which often relies more heavily on engineered GI). At the broad scale level the purpose of green infrastructure planning is to, “identify suitable lands for conservation in the context of current and future developed lands” (McDonald, Allen, Benedict, & O'Connor, 2005). This proactive approach seeks to identify “where not to build”, or “where to reclaim” and sets green infrastructure planning apart from many other planning pursuits. Key to ensuring that these planning efforts have positive results is making sure that there is an interconnectivity of green infrastructure sites. A network of open space functions better than separate "islands". An idealized green infrastructure network would consist of large “hubs” that anchor the network and provide a refuge and origin for biodiversity and a large component of ecosystem service. Hubs range in size from large conservation areas to smaller parks, including I would add Permaculture and agroforestry farms. Sites are smaller open space areas that may or may not be linked to green infrastructure network, but nonetheless provide important community benefits and should be identified as part of it. Links or corridors are the connections that hold the network together and enable it to function. They facilitate movement from one hub to another.

Services Offered:
- Green Infrastructure Planning and Design