On June 18, the Green Infrastructure Center Inc. (GIC) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released a green infrastructure planning guide. The guide aids planners in mapping naturally occurring green infrastructure. This effort can help communities prioritize natural resources for conservation or restoration. For example, natural green spaces can be valuable in managing stormwater that affects drinking water sources or other vulnerable waterbodies. Mapping data can be used to inform stormwater and flood management programs, the location of waste disposal sites, and open space and wildlife protection. Evaluating and Conserving Green Infrastructure Across the Landscape: A Practitioner’s Guide draws from 6 years of studies in Ulster County, N.Y.
“Just as we plan for our gray infrastructure — roads, bridges, power lines, pipelines, sewer systems — so should we plan to conserve natural resources as our green infrastructure,” said GIC Director Karen Firehock. “This is not a guide about how to stop development or to limit population growth. Rather, it describes the steps a community can take to determine what is important and to develop a rationale for what to protect.” Read more.
GIC also created a version of this guide for Virginia and will release additional guides for Arkansas and North Carolina this year.
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