What is Green Infrastructure?

One definition of Green Infrastructure is a planned network which integrates landscape, biodiversity, the water environment and cultural heritage with both natural and managed greenspace and access corridors. It can apply to both urban and rural areas and to the urban fringe.

Why Green Infrastructure?

The objectives and advantages of Green Infrastructure include the provision of a healthy and rich environment, offering fresh air and exercise, attractive places to live and to visit, opportunities to appreciate nature and heritage, and a good quality of life, in the context of sustainable development. The emphasis is on multiple benefits rather than on individual sites or designations, and on the connections between them.

What does Green Infrastructure consist of?

Green Infrastructure can be considered at both strategic and local levels:

Regionally, it would include:

• nationally- and internationally-recognised wildlife sites
• National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Heritage Coasts
• Community Forests
• major historical sites, principal Registered Parks and Gardens
• national footpath and cycle trails
• regionally-significant country parks (e.g. above 500 ha).

Sub-regionally (e.g. county, district or borough level), it would include:

• all features of regional significance, plus —
• county wildlife sites (or equivalent)
• woodland and locally valued landscapes
• scheduled ancient monuments and other heritage sites
• the rights-of-way and cycle networks
• waterways
• recreational and access land including commons above, say, 2ha.

Locally (i.e. city, town or parish), it would include:

• any of the above within the boundary under consideration, together with —
• local nature reserves, village greens, pocket parks, other smaller parcels of recreational and access land and local paths.

Connectivity and integration

Connectivity between features and facilities can be considered on two levels:

• Firstly, the opportunity (or otherwise) for wildlife, habitats and species themselves to expand, to migrate and to develop feeding and dispersal routes
• this includes maintaining and enhancing the condition of sites, habitat and landscapes
• Secondly, access connectivity such that multiple Green Infrastructure features can be enjoyed and interpreted by people on a single visit or route
• included are opportunities for improving access, both along linear routes and within access land, whether in its own right or to increase the experience and enjoyment of biodiversity, landscape or heritage

New development

New built development places additional demands on Green Infrastructure and may even reduce existing resources through the loss of biodiversity, open land or routes. New roads can sever existing Green Infrastructure from the adjacent population. As a result, new Green Infrastructure is needed to provide for the new demand as well as in mitigation of any losses. Connectivity between new and existing Green Infrastructure is paramount as well as appropriate linkages with public transport. Distances from centres of demand are an important parameter.

Some common fallacies

“Green Infrastructure is all about access.” This is only partly true. Even inaccessible high-value landscapes, highly-sensitive wildlife sites or small areas of private land making a visual contribution to the streetscape can be just as much a component of Green Infrastructure as access land or a bridleway.

“It’s only about urban areas”. Not true. Whilst Green Infrastructure is highly important in urban areas, including such facilities and features as parks, allotments and canals, most Green Infrastructure is actually located in the countryside.

“Green Infrastructure is merely a palliative for new development”. Whilst new development makes new demands and should therefore always contribute to additional Green Infrastructure, Green Infrastructure is needed by everyone everywhere. There are also existing deficits to remedy.

Green Infrastructure studies

Green Infrastructure studies identify and map existing provision and look for both deficits and opportunities, as well as analysing the impact of new demands. Studies may propose additional provision that should be made.

The following would both inform and be informed by Green Infrastructure studies, at the relevant geographical level:

• Regional Spatial Strategies
• Regional Transport Strategies
• Sub-Regional Strategies
• Local Transport Plans
• Local Access Plans
• Local Development Frameworks
• Parish and Town Plans.

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