Designing greenways : sustainable landscapes for nature and people

Book

Designing greenways : sustainable landscapes for nature and people / Paul Cawood Hellmund & Daniel Somers Smith.

Hellmund, Paul Cawood. (Author). Smith, Daniel S. (Daniel Somers) (Added Author).

Summary:

"How are greenways designed? What situations lead to their genesis, and what examples best illustrate their potential for enhancing communities and the environment? Designing greenways is a key to protecting landscapes, allowing wildlife to move freely, and finding appropriate ways to bring people into nature. This book brings together examples from ecology, conservation biology, aquatic ecology, and recreation design to illustrate how greenways function and add value to ecosystems and human communities alike. Encompassing everything from urban trail corridors to river floodplains to wilderness-like linkages, greenways preserve or improve the integrity of the landscape, not only by stemming the loss of natural features, but also by engendering new natural and social functions. From 19th-century parks and parkways to projects still on the drawing boards, Designing Greenways is a fascinating introduction to the possibilities-and pitfalls-involved in these ambitious projects. As towns and cities look to greenways as a new way of reconciling man and nature, designers and planners will look to Designing Greenways as an invaluable compendium of best practices."--Publisher's website.

Record details

ISBN: 1559633298
ISBN: 9781559633291
ISBN: 1559633255
ISBN: 9781559633253
Physical Description: xiv, 270 pages : illustrations, maps ; 27 cm
Publisher: Washington : Island Press, ©2006.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Paul Cawood Hellmund and Daniel Smith -- 1. Introduction: Greenway Functions, Design, and History -- Paul Cawood Hellmund and Daniel Smith -- Greenways and landscape integrity: An overview Landscape problems and greenway opportunities A strategic greenway design approach Greenways and sustainable design: the significance of scale and equity Greenways have evolved from earlier linear conservation and transportation corridors. -- Greenway examples -- 2. Greenway Ecology and the Integrity of Landscapes: An Illustrated Primer -- Paul Cawood Hellmund -- Bringing together diverse perspectives. -- A willingness to communicate beyond narrow limits Explicitly spatial landscape ecology a boon to greenway design Landscape ecology as an inclusive perspective Supplemental sources Taking the broader view An illustrated primer Landscape elements: patches, corridors, matrix Landscape structure is comprised of composition, configuration, and connectivity.

The ways landscape elements originate and function Not all species use the landscape in the same way. -- Landscape connectivity is a fundamental concept for greenway design. -- Corridors, gaps, and stepping stones Patches -- Matrix -- Boundaries and the edge effect Landscape structure and function influence each other Some disturbances occur naturally and change is inevitable The impacts of people form a gradient across the landscape. -- Island biogeography Understanding spatial scale is crucial. -- Broader time scales are important, too. -- Guiding a fragmenting landscape toward connectivity Is spatial pattern always crucial? -- 3. Greenways as Corridors for Maintaining and Enhancing Wildlife Movement -- Reed Noss -- Wildlife movement and the role for corridors Corridors as habitat. -- Corridors in daily and seasonal wildlife movements Corridors and other landscape elements in dispersal The Role of Dispersal Corridors in Population Persistence.

The role of corridors in facilitating long-distance range shifts Key greenway design issues Conclusion -- 4. Riparian Greenways and Water Resources -- Michael Binford and Richard Karty -- Structure of Riparian Corridors and Their Associated Watersheds -- Riparian Corridor Functions -- Effects of Human Activities on Riparian Corridors -- Applications in Design and Management -- Guidelines for Riparian Greenway Design -- Conclusions -- 5. Social-Ecological Design of Greenways -- Daniel Smith -- Introduction -- Society and Nature: Understanding the Human Landscape -- The Social Basis of Landscape Change: Ideas, Institutions, and Participation -- Applications: Connecting People to people and people to nature Conclusions -- 6. Ecological Greenway Design -- Paul Cawood Hellmund -- Language, principles, and models of greenway design A design method: Getting the greenway vision Stage 1: Identifying potential issues, stakeholders, and preliminary goals. -- Stage 2. Defining a broad region to study Stage 3: Selecting nodes and swaths Stage 4: Selecting alternative alignments and setting widths. -- Stage 5: Implementing and managing Sources of information for the greenway design method Conclusions -- Epilogue -- Index.