May 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 35

conservation continued from page 31

In many communities, the question of
how resilient the natural systems are is tied
directly to how much parkland they have
and how interconnected their park system
is to other protective systems, both natural
and engineered. These natural and constructed protective systems include levees,
natural floodplains, man-made and natural
wetlands, ground water recharge areas,
urban forests that clean and purify air, and
other bio-retention areas and structures that
absorb pollutants, slow the flow of stormwater, and filter impurities in air and water. In
many communities large areas of protected open space that have been purchased
over decades to perform these functions.
Often the park system was specifically designed to connect natural systems such as
stream valleys, river corridors, and other
natural ecosystems to each other. The benefits have been taken for granted and the
costs have not been associated with benefits, but not for much longer.
Well-designed park systems that are

integrated into developed infrastructure
can enhance nearly all of the infrastructure functions, often at a fraction of the cost
of man-made systems. A number of larger
cities, notably New York City, Philadelphia,
Houston, and others, are making massive investments in changing their " gray
infrastructure, " that is the man-made
structures designed to handle and treat
wastewater and stormwater, enable commerce, and support utility systems. Traditional gray infrastructure has not always
performed up to expectations, however,
and damages caused by intense weather
events have become hugely expensive to
repair. This is one of the reasons these cities and others like them are looking more
closely at tapping into functioning natural
systems and utilizing their benefits, often
at greatly reduced costs from traditional
infrastructure. Philadelphia, for example,
is looking to convert fully one-third of its
cityscape into permeable surfaces to better deal with runoff, erosion, water quality

degradation, and stormwater. What better
and less expensive method is there than
to utilize park and public landscapes to
perform such functions?
Quantifying and measuring these benefits is a challenge. Which kinds of natural
landscapes produce the greatest benefits
is a key question for cities and regions,
and there are tens of millions of dollars
at stake in deciding what type of system
approaches to use. Low impact development (LID) is an emerging school of practice for cities and regions that are trying
to utilize the benefits of green infrastructure in creating sustainable communities. New concepts such as green streets
and other low impact development strategies are beginning to define new types of
neighborhoods that are much more desirable because they are being developed
according to design principles including
shade trees, bio-swales, bio-remediation,
and other conservation practices involving green space and natural systems.
The implementation of conservation
practices and expansion of the use of
parks in green infrastructure design exemplifies the concept of the " triple bottom line, " that is, they simultaneously
produce economic, environmental, and
social benefits. The sustainability and resiliency benefits provided by parks are
becoming much more quantifiable and
measurable. Moreover, implementation
of these conservation strategies leads to
green jobs, higher tax-bases, and greater livability, thus making communities
more attractive to businesses and residents. Parkways, byways, bike/ped trails,
and greenways offer not just vegetative
buffers to development and stormwater protection, but also create alternative
transportation systems and opportunities
for new economic development.
Green infrastructure is a concept that is
gaining currency in communities across
America. It is our time to demonstrate that
parks are central to the economic, environmental, and social benefits that green
infrastructure brings.
Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA Vice

President, Conservation and Parks

32 Parks & Recreation M A Y

2 0 1 2 w w w . N R P A . O R G

May 2012 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2012 - Parks & Recreation