Greenways Defined

Nearly all of the cities celebrated for offering the highest quality of life have one trait in common; each in its own way embraces the natural environment and incorporates open green space into its urban landscape.  These model cities attract residents and visitors because they balance the frenetic activity and dense development inherent in urban living with elements of natural beauty, recreation, and relaxation offered in rural settings.  These valuable urban green spaces take many forms as shown by two of the earliest and best known American examples:  New York City’s Central Park (built between 1858 – 1873)  and Boston’s Emerald Necklace (built between 1878 – 1896).

Boston’s Emerald Necklace greenway

Though both were designed by the great landscape architect and urban planner Frederick Law Olmstead and both serve similar purposes, the two parks have very different forms.  Central Park is a large 843-acre oasis in the middle of Manhattan.  Boston’s Emerald Necklace (over 1,000 acres) is a system of six parks between Boston and Brookline which are all linked by corridors of green space.  This linear park design is based on the merging of the “greenbelt” and “parkway” concepts of early planning theorists.  As linear parks became increasingly popular in the 1960s, the American term “greenway” was created to describe these Olmstead-inspired facilities.  In its most effective form, a greenway not only serves as a practical amenity to city residents, but it also becomes a signature feature helping define a city’s character and sometimes even augmenting portions of the economy.

In Charles Little’s 1990 book Greenways for America, one of the subject’s leading texts, he defines a greenway as, “a linear open space established along either a natural corridor, such as a riverfront, stream, valley, or ridgeline, or overland along a railroad right-of-way converted to recreational use, a canal, a scenic road or other route.”   Little goes on to add that a greenway often functions as, “an open space connector linking parks, nature preserves, cultural features, or historic sites with each other and with populated areas.”  As defined by the Virginia Outdoors Plan, greenways are, “open space corridors that can be managed for conservation, recreation, or alternative transportation.”