Green networks and people

New approaches to planning and delivery

Background

Greenspaces in and around towns and cities provide a wide range of goods and services – including opportunities for recreation, health and well being, enhancing landscape quality, supporting biodiversity conservation, improving water and air quality and offering sustainable travel options.

The concept of green networks seeks to recognise the importance of networks of greenspaces as an essential component of more sustainable urban environments, and improve the functionality of these networks through better protection and management. However, there is some evidence that the planning system does not always explicitly think of urban green spaces as a multifunctional linked system (e.g. Sandstrom, 2002) or how green networks can provide social benefits.

Forest Research are working in partnership with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership (GCVGNP), and Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) to explore approaches to planning ‘Green Networks and People’, which aims to support better integration of multi-functional green into spatial planning.

Objectives

The project will develop, test and disseminate new approaches to planning and delivering green networks in and around towns and cities that will deliver benefits to people and the environment.

The aim of the research is to support decision-making around green network planning and management at a range of spatial scales but we also seek to incorporate an understanding of how people perceive and use greenspaces and the extent to which different types of spaces contribute to social benefits such as reducing health inequalities, improving community cohesion and increasing quality of life.

Methods

The programme will be delivered through three phases:

• Phase 1 – literature review of existing approaches to green network planning and management, and scope the potential for applied research.
• Phase 2 - applied research, in partnership with local authorities and others, to test and further develop approaches to assessing green network functionality and supporting decision making around green network planning and management at a range of spatial scales.
• Phase 3 - communication and training to support the application of new tools in development planning, urban design and greenspace planning and management.

Results

We have completed Phase 1 of the project and produced an interim report reviewing existing approaches to green network planning and management, and the social and environmental data to support new approaches.

Our review has indicated how Local Authorities map and quantify greenspace provision and access through a series of national (or locally derived) standards. Determination of greenspace quality and public perception of greenspace vary between authorities, as do the availability and use of social data, and initiatives to engage local populations and encourage them to use greenspace.

We will use these findings to begin applied research through a series of case studies in East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire and Edinburgh at the beginning of 2010.

Funding

The research is funded by:

• Scottish Natural Heritage
• Glasgow & Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership
• Forestry Commission Scotland

Application

It is envisaged that the outputs from these approaches will be used to contribute to national outcomes and Local Authority Single Outcome Agreements in Scotland.

Contacts

For general information about this project contact:

Darren Moseley
Forest Research
Northern Research Station
Roslin
Midlothian EH25 9SY

Tel: 0131 445 6952
Fax: 0131 445 5124
E-mail: darren.moseley@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

For information about the social benefits of green networks contact:

Mariella Marzano
Forest Research
Northern Research Station
Roslin
Midlothian EH25 9SY

Tel: 0131 445 6973
Fax: 0131 445 5124
E-mail: mariella.marzano@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

References

Sandström, U.F. (2002) Green Infrastructure Planning in urban Sweden. Planning Practice & Research 17(4): 373-385.