Grantee Research Project Results

Final Report: Enhancing Sustainability by Spinning Green into a Grey Infrastructure: The Design of Parks and Greenways in a Community's Fabric

EPA Grant Number: SU832502
Title: Enhancing Sustainability by Spinning Green into a Grey Infrastructure: The Design of Parks and Greenways in a Community's Fabric
Investigators: Shafer, Scott , Minarcik, Lauren , Barnes, Gayla , Bartlett, Stephanie , Maynard, Lee , White, Jennifer , Moore, Jason , Bundy, Topher , Fogle, Ken , Clann, Kristan
Institution: Texas A & M University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: September 30, 2005 through August 31, 2006
Project Amount: $9,952
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2005) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Sustainable and Healthy Communities , Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Objective:

The purpose of this project was to analyze current public policy dealing with transportation and connectivity issues in College Station, Texas and develop specific policy language and/or tools that would address these challenges through implementation of green infrastructure.  To do this, students conducted a case study that examined how stakeholders in this community influence the development of policy and facilities related to parks and greenways at the local level, and learned how citizen use of such places relates to environmental  and social quality in the community.  Students worked in collaboration with the City of College Station Office of Planning and Development, and the city's  existing Greenways Program to understand existing policies related to the development of greenways, and to inform the development of new policies that support sustainability as the city updates its comprehensive plan for development and zoning.

The incorporation of greenways into the grey infrastructure of a community is one means of improving that community's environmental, social, economic, and cultural milieu.

Greenways have a demonstrated ability to enhance the sustainability of a community by such mechanisms as:

• Connecting neighborhoods
• Easing automobile congestion by providing a venue for alternative transportation
• Providing sites for community gatherings for social and cultural events
• Enhancing property values
• Protecting natural habitats and corridors for safe movement of wildlife
• Generating tourism based on enjoyment of nature

The major goal of this project was to provide a capstone planning experience in community sustainability for undergraduate majors in the Department of Recreation, Park and

Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University.  Additionally, one student from the Department of Landscape Architecture and one graduate student from the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences were recruited to join the team for their respective technical expertise. Students were asked to implement their ability to:

• Recognize existing and future challenges to community sustainability
• Understand the consequences of those challenges to the environment and society
• Develop innovative policy and design greenway-based solutions to those challenges that will provide environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits
• Understand the impact of these solutions on the sustainability and livability of the community
• Demonstrate the broad applicability of these principles to other communities and locations

This project allowed students to participate in conceptualizing,  designing, and demonstrating a greenway-based solution to the problems associated with sprawl and the spread of a grey infrastructure.  It offered students meaningful experience in developing public policies that enhance the sustainability of community-scale environment, economy, society and culture.

To meet the goals stated above, the following objectives were identified and are discussed here.

• Gathering Information
• Developing Recommendations
• Developing Example Policies and Green Infrastructure Designs

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

Students identified key stakeholders in the community planning process and conducted interviews with them to understand their diverse perspectives and get a sense of their understanding of sustainability, connectivity and green infrastructure.  Stakeholders interviewed included representatives from the local development community, city planning and transportation staff, Parks & Recreation Advisory Board members, landscape architects and active citizens.

General findings from the interviews demonstrated the polarity of views held by important stakeholders in the community.  The development community appears to have the ·  perception that connectivity and sustainability are not important issues to homebuyers and average citizens.  Some developers interviewed did not even understand what the concepts meant and therefore did not value these as important ideas to implement when developing.   The development community representatives also had strong views about what they thought homebuyers and community members wanted to see in their community, such as more cul-de-sac development, gated communities and no connections such as trails between neighborhoods. These views appeared in direct contradiction to the views expressed by other interviewees such as city staff, Park & Recreation Advisory Board members, and active citizens, as well as survey results compiled in a College Station Park & Recreation Needs Assessment where connectivity between parks through trails and "greening" the city were the top two priorities identified.

Based upon the primary data obtained from this project's survey and the secondary data analyzed previously, students developed a "green" connectivity index in addition to several policy guidelines that promote sustainable development and can be used by planning officials when developing public policy.

Roadway Network Connectivity Index

The traditional concept of a connectivity index has been used in the transportation field for many years to increase roadway network connectivity for vehicular transportation  efficiency. Connectivity is measured by adding together the number of neighborhood street links and then dividing that number by the number of nodes (i.e. intersections, cul-de-sac bulbs, and dead ends).  A perfect city grid of four North/South streets by four East/West streets has 32 links and 16 nodes.  The connectivity index is therefore calculated to be a 2.0 (32 links divided by 16 nodes) and represents the highest level of connectivity.  A "good" connectivity score would be a minimum of 1.4.  Figure 1 represents an increasingly common neighborhood development with a connectivity index of 1.25 (20 links divided by 16 nodes).  The links are represented by "dots" and the nodes are represented by “stars”.

Figure 1. Connectivity = 1.25

Green Connectivity Index

It is the recommendation of this P3 design team that some modifications be made to the traditional roadway network connectivity index to incorporate green infrastructure in planning and development.  The addition of administrator-awarded  bonus and reduction values that distinguish between alternative types of links as compared to just roadway links, and distinguishes values of different types of connections or nodes, adds a green component that makes for a more comprehensive and inclusive connectivity index.

Table 1

Administrator-Awarded Index Reductions	Reduction Values
Adjacent Major Arterial as Neighborhood Boundary	-0.025
Railroad Crossing Controlled-Access Highway Adjacent Developments with No Street Stub-Outs	-0.05

 

Table 2

Administrator-Awarded Index Bonuses	Bonus Values
Connection between cul-de-sacs	+0.01
Buffered Sidewalk Bike Lane Parkway Arterial (A minimum of 12' wide landscaped median)	+0.025
Greenway (A minimum of a 20' easement with a 8' multiple use trail) Grade Separation Greenway Connections to Schools and/or Shopping Areas	+0.05
Greenway Connections between Parks	+0.075

In addition to the development of the Green Connectivity Index, the team developed example policies to be used in the development and planning of green-infrastructure in the following ways: Greenway Dedication Ordinances and Land Use Zones, and the addition of a Greenways Zoning category (Urban Greenways, Suburban Greenways, Rural Greenways) in addition to traditional zoning such as Residential, Commercial, Agricultural, etc.

Conclusions:

Incorporating green infrastructure into the planning and development process is an appropriate counter to the grey infrastructure and the encroachment of urban sprawl. Green infrastructure enhances connectivity between parks and schools, between wildlife habitats and floodplains, and between neighborhoods and people. The addition of greenways to a traditional grey infrastructure system has tremendous benefits to the environment, to human health and to the economic and social health of communities.

The incorporation of green infrastructure in the planning and development process, aimed at connectivity and sustainability has tremendous implications for our future. This notion of incorporating greenways, parks and other open space into the grey infrastructure needs to become commonly accepted and widely used across the developed world, as well as in the developing world, so that the future prosperity of people and the planet are not jeopardized and we can live in a world where the natural environment and human communities will be sustained in perpetual harmony.

Supplemental Keywords:

greenway, land use, urban park, connectivity, Sustainable Industry/Business, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Technology for Sustainable Environment, Sustainable Environment, Urban and Regional Planning, Ecology and Ecosystems, urban planning, environmental sustainability, green design, alternative infrastructure design, collaborative urban planning, Urban Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering Program, environmentally conscious design, land use, architectual design