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THE AMERICAN GREENWAY MOVEMENTCharles A. FlinkPublished online: 23 Jan 2013.

To cite this article: Charles A. Flink (1993) THE AMERICAN GREENWAY MOVEMENT , Canadian WaterResources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques, 18:4, 485-492, DOI: 10.4296/cwrj1804485

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THE AMERICAN GREENWAY MOVEMENTWaterscapes' 9 1 P roceedi ngs

Watertront Development

Charles A. Flinkl

Greenways by DefinitionThe greenway concept is not easy todefine because it means many things todifferent people. To some, a greenway is arecreation corridor providing access to theoutdoors;to others greenways are naturallandscape corridors that protect habitatand ecological systems. Most importantlygreenways are linear corridors which areoften located parallel to a creek, stream orriver. However, greenways provide morethan just environmental and recreationfunctions. As we approach the 21st Cen-tury, Americans are beginning to realizethat greenways can also serve our futureinfrastructure needs, in the form ofalternative transportation, stormwatermanagement and multi-purpose utility cor-ridors.

In addition, with the degradation andabandonment of the United States indus-trial rail system, greenways have alsobeen viewed as tool for protecting andpreserving the rights-of-way of these signi-ficant transportation corridors for presentday use as recreational trails. Greenwayscan be found in both urban and rural land-scapes of the United States, providinglandscapes where city dwellers can es-cape the pressures of urban life, and pro-viding valuable linkage to residents of ruraldt E4D.

It is difficult to pin down the exactperiod of time when the word "greenway"came into existence as a land use term.However, greenways, as a land use pro-duct in the United States, came into exist-ence in the late 1800's, prior to theAmerican Civil War, when landscape archi-tect Frederick Law Olmstead was desig-

ning and implementing open space sys-tems and linear parks in New York City andBoston. The modern and prolific use of theterm greenway began in the 1960s and1970's, under the authorship of William H.

Whyte and lan McHarg'. Recently theterm was afforded credibility when in 1987The President's Commission on Ameri-cans Outdoors (PCAO) released a reportsummarizing the conclusions of their twoyear investigation into America's use ofthe outdoor environment. The PCAO con-cluded that Americans attitudes about theoutdoors had been changing during thepast thirty years, and that a popular landuse initiative of the future would be thedevelopment of a national system ofgreenways - "Corridors of private and pub-lic recreation lands and waters (which)provide people with access to oPenspaces close to where theY live, and(which) link together rural and urbanspaces in the American landscape."'

While the origins and definition of theterm greenway remain somewhat confus-ing and disjunct, simply defined, green-ways link people with natural resources!

Drivino force behindGreenWav Movement in theUnited St'atesI am most often asked - "What has createdthis sudden and dramatic interest in thecreation of Greenways?" I believe thatmore than any other single factor, popula-tion growth has created an awareness ofthe need to carefully manage the re-sources of our communities, nation andworld.

In order to reinforce this conclusion,consider that at the time Thomas Jefferson

1. Greenways Incorporated, Cary, North Carolina, USA

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was President of the United States (1801-1809), the population of the World was 1

billion people. By 1945, at the end of WorldWar ll, the population had doubled to 2billion people. At the beginning of this de-cade, in January 1990, census figures de-scribed the population of the World hadeclipsed the 5 billion-person mark. Andforecasts strongly indicate that within thenext forty years the World's population willdouble again to 10 billion people. lf wethink we have resource problems today,wait thirty years. The recent problems inthe Persian Gulf will seem like a neighbor-hood street fight in comparison to thebattles we will most likely wage over pot-able water, food and clean air.

As a nation, the United States em-bodies all of the conflicts being created bya growing, urbanizing world. Since thefounding of the thirteen colonies, Ameri-cans have thought of the North Americancontinent as a vast, unconquerable land-scape, with plenty of land for every person,and for every type of use. But populationgrowth, at the rate of 2.2 million peopleeach year for the past twenty years, hasgenerated an awareness that much of thewater we drink, the air we breath, the foodwe eat and the shelters we call home, havebeen, or are being severely affected by thewaste-products of a populated nation.

In the past forty years, America haswitnessed the loss of its rural and wilder-ness heritage. More than 75 million acresof open space has been lost to suburbandevelopment. Environmental degradationhas occurred in a swift and uniform man-ner, from the loss of valuable forest land,to the pollution of our surface streams,rivers and lakes.

ln fact, the American-way of resourceexploitation, capitalism and limitlessgrowth, the principles which have enabledthe United States to achieve the status ofa world leader, are severely threateningthe environmental processes necessary tosustain the delicate structure for all life onthe continent.

Fueling this lack of understanding anddisrespect for the natural environment,has been a lifestyle that is dictated by

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convenience, greed and technology.Slowly, during the past forty years, Ameri-cans have engineered a lifestyle of com-placency. We have turned the uniquecharm and character, which once madeour communities different from another,into Anywhere USA, mass producingsameness and literally living in a "MacDo-nalds society". America's infrastructure isbecoming congested with the demands ofthe individual, and we have lost our abilityto use resources in a wise and efficientmanner. Perhaps the President's Com-mission on Americans Outdoors sum-marizes the current status of America'soutdoor resources best, stating that "Openspace, wildlife and wetlands are being lost,often because their value does not registerin the economic calculus of develop-ment."3

Environmental degradation, lack ofcaring for the resources that sustain ourlifestyle, and a lack of commitment topreserve and protect ecological systemsfor future generations is not limited to theUnited States - it is a world-wide epidemic.When the lron Curtain began to beremoved in Eastern Eurooe. the moststunning issue that was revealed to West-ern society, was the massive environmen-tal degradation which took place duringforty years of communist rule. And so theobvious questions are now being asked -

what kind of world will our children andgrandchildren inherit?

Qreenways: Protecting theEnvironnientSo how can greenways make a significantimpact on the environmental conscious-ness of an entire nation? The mostpromising aspect of the greenway conceptis the expressed goal of balancing the abil-ities of ecological systems with the needsof mankind. By their nature, greenwayspreserve vegetation, filter sediment andpollution from erodible lands, help to con-trol water and air pollution, protectwetlands, and conserve wildlife habitat.

Wetlands are often regarded asswamps, and are generally disliked bypeople because they smell funny, contain

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a diversity of wildlife which human beingsdo not particularly care for, and are locatedwithin landforms generally regarded as un-desirable. Wetlands should be highly re-garded, for they are the birthplace formany ecological systems, upon which alllife depends. Greenways are viewed as anexcellent method for protecting wetlands,while at the same time providing peoplewith access to these unioue environmentsso that they can realize their inherentvatue.

Urban flooding is one of the mostsevere and costly problems within theUnited States. One of the benefits whichgreenways provide to urban areas is inabsorbing flood waters. In 1973, a tremen-dous flood enEulfed the Crabtree Valleyfloodplain in Raleigh, North Carolina. A re-cently completed shopping mall, the sec-ond largest in the State, was allowed to bedeveloped within the floodplain, and as aresult of the flooding, suffered over $2 mil-lion dollars in damage. Damage to the mallwas so swift and severe it brought to lightthat there should be no further urban de-velopment within floodprone areas. TheCity had been studying the concept ofgreenways for years, as a land use tool forprotecting the floodplain from urban en-croachment. Finally, the City had the econ-omic incentive to create a community-widegreenway system.

Today, most of the City's creeks andstreams are protected by greenways, andflood waters are now being absorbed inbuffers of natural landscaoes.

The issue surrounding wildlife habitatis more serious than we think. Increasedurbanization of America's native land-scape is forcing some species out of theirnatural habitat. Even more seriously, weare cutting off migration routes and confin-ing some species to parcels of land toosmall for successful habitation. A majorconcern among biologists in the UnitedStates, especially with regard to the issueof global warming, is the confinement ofgene pool mixing and migration. The fearis that if east-west urbanization continues,vital north-south migration routes will bepermanently severed, resulting in the loss

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of numerous species, due to their inabilityto migrate northward. Greenways provideinterconnected corridors not only for wil-dlife nesting, but also for migration, andmay in time become the primary areaswhere a majority of wildlife take refugefrom man's urban intrusion.

Greenwavs: Providinqaccess td the outdoo-rsIn order to better understand our relation-ship to the natural world, we musi haveaccess to these landscapes - greenwaysprovide proper access to the outdoors. Anationwide study recently completed byAmerican Trails, a non-profit organizationbased in Washington, DC, indicates thatincreasing numbers of Americans areusing the outdoors with greater frequency.For examole. more than 100 million Ameri-cans walk for pleasure, f itness andexercise; 61 million ride bicycles; 29 mil-lion jog; 17 million ride horses; 15 millionuse canoes and kayaks, and countlessothers participate in other motorized andnon-motorized activities that make use oflinear corridors of land.

Greenways provide Americans with ac-cess to the outdoors in a way that does notpermanently damage the inherentoualities of the natural environment. Andbecause their linear form provides moreperimeter, and therefore more frequentpoints of access to the resource, green-ways are becoming a preferred alternativeto traditional parks. Many recreation acti-vities are best accommodated within linearcorridors, such as greenways; and linkingdifferent facilities together with greenwaysis a way to create more efficient use ofthose facilities.

Greenways are also becoming an es-sential component of many local recre-ation strategies, solving the need forclose-to-home recreation in urban areas.

Most Americans can no longer affordthe time, nor expense, to travel lonE dis-tances for vacations, so the neighborhoodgreenway is becoming a welcome alterna-tive to the two-week vacation.

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Jhe Economic Reality's ofGreenwaysIn communities throughout the UnitedStates, greenways, as a recreation com-ponent, have been readily accepted whenjustified by economic opportunity. To fullyunderstand the impact of recreation on theeconomic well being of the United Statesis to realize that each year Americansspend an estimated $300 billion on recre-ation and leisure activities, more than $100billion devoted to outdoor recreation acti-vities.

As one examole of how the recreationaspect of greenways positively impactsthe economic well being of local com-munities, let me share with you the story ofthe Cedar Valley Nature Trail, an 84-ki-lometre greenway in north central lowa. In

Lafayette, lowa, Mr. Ritze, a long time resi-dent of the community, converted a part ofhis Feed and Seed store to the Trail Oasis- where cold beverages, tasty snacks andthe latest gossip can be found. Sadly, oneof social elements that has been removedfrom many communities throughout theUnited States during the past thirty years,has been the ability of people to walk downMain Street and socialize with their neigh-bor. The Cedar Valley Nature Trail has notonly created a new economic opportunityfor people like Mr. Ritze, it has also re-turned to the community, the "front porch"social atmosphere of yesteryear.

Greenways offer numerous othereconomic opportunities for urban and ruralresidents of the United States. Five inde-oendent studies conclude that residentialhomes in close proximity to a greenwayare more valuable than properties not inclose proximity to these community re-sources. These studies conclude that thevalue of a home can increase between 57oand '15%, depending on the proximity tothe greenway and the quality of the green-way facility. In confirmation of these re-sults, I have clipped out one real estatelisting from a Raleigh, North Carolinanewspaper, illustrating the number ofhomes for sale which list proximity to agreenway as an amenity of the home.

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American corporations are also begin-ning to realize the value of greenway de-velopment. In the Research TrianglePark. North Carolina. the Tenant's Associ-ation, comprised of lBM, Northern Tele-com, Data General, Burroughs Wellcomeand Galxo, to name but a few, approachedthe master develooer of the Park and de-manded that a system of trails and green-ways be installed throughout the60OO-acre corporate Park. Greenways areviewed by these Fortune 500 companiesas an important land use opportunity, pro-viding the more than 35 000 employees inthe Park with safe access to the outdoorsfor exercise, stress relief and alternativetransoortation.

Greenways are also providing oppor-tunities for commercial develooment. Themost common type of development beingIocated along greenway trails is the out-door services industry. However, culturalattractions are also beginning to viewgreenways as an excellent "front door" fortheir establishment. The construction in-dustry is also realizing the economicpotential of the greenway movement. In

North Carolina alone, greenway develop-ment will generate more than $10 million inconstruction costs within the next threeyears.

The economic realities of the greenwaymovement satisfies the caoitalistic scrut-iny of Americans - if it makes money it mustbe a good idea!

Public Participation : lqnitinqthe Prairie Fir'e of ActlonOf the numerous bold recommendationsput forth by the PCAO Report, the one thathas caotured the attention of most Ameri-cans is the recommendation for a "PrairieFire" of action and suooort for the im-plementation of a nation wide system ofgreenways. Perhaps what is most encour-aging about the American GreenwayMovement is the fact that the averagecitizen, in local communities throughoutthe nation, is initiating the action. TheGreenway Movement is not being directedfrom the White House or from Congress,or by some large national non-profit organ-

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ization. Instead, it is slowly gainingmomentum in Elizabethtown, Kentucky;Athens, Georgia; Clearwater BeachFlorida; Stowe, Vermont and Lincoln, Ne-braska. lt is a full-fledged grass-rootsmovement, built on sweat equity, persist-ence and a vision for the future.

lf you have an opportunity to tour oneof the more than 500 greenways in theUnited States, you will find that most of thesuccessful greenways have been com-pleted by virtue of the efforts of citizen-based coalitions. Farmers, developers,teachers, home builders, housewives, law-yers, architects and mechanics, all work-ing hand-in-hand to create a self-directedlocal greenway. Sometimes it's only a ki-lometre long segment, other times thegreenways extend for several hundred ki-lometres.

ln order to better understand howgreenways are actually created, let meshare with you four case studies of differ-ent greenways. I have selected four geo-graphic. regions of the United States andwill feature four different greenway types:1) A regional greenway in the State of NewYork; 2) A small urban-area greenway inNorth Carolina; 3) A large urban-area ormetropolitan greenway in Colorado;and 4)A state-wide greenway in the State of Ore-gon.

Hudson R[ver Greenway: ARegional GreenwayThe Hudson River, perhaps one of themost historically important and scenicrivers in the United States, is often referredto as the American Rhine. The River hasbeen the focus of some of the most re-markable conservation achievements inthe history of the United States: preserva-tion of the riverside from 72nd Street inManhattan, upriver to the tip of the lsland;the protection of the dramatic Palisades;and establishment of the Hudson High-lands State Park, are but a few of theseachievements.

ln championing the protection of theHudson River, the State of New York hasestablished a history of success in crea-ting partnerships for protecting natural re-

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sources, promoting economic growth andmaintaining a high quality of life for Stateresidents. This spirit of cooperation hasbeen manifested in an organization knownas Scenic Hudson, Incorporated. ln part-nership with Local, State and Federal gov-ernments for the past twenty five years,Scenic Hudson has worked to preserve,

restore and enhance the ecological,scenic, historic and recreational resourcesof the Hudson River, and to broaden theunderstanding and appreciation of thenatural beauty and historic importance ofthe Valley to the nation

In striving to meet these challenginggoals, Scenic Hudson has served as acatalyst for the creation of the HudsonRiver Greenway Coalition, a consortium ofover 150 organizations representing con-servation, education, historic preservationand local civic associations. The result ofthese joint efforts has been the creation, inconcept, of one of the nations longest,continuous regional greenways. The Hud-son River Greenway extends from NewYork City, at the southern end, to Albany,the State Capital, at the northern end, animoressive 242 kilometres.

Land types proposed to comprise thegreenway system include Parks,preserves, cultural resources and historicsites, private open spaces and corridors.The greenway is urgently needed becausethe Hudson River Valley is viewed as alimited and vulnerable resource, currentlyunder tremendous stress f rom rapid subur-ban development. Fear persists throug-hout the State that the River Valley,regarded as a national treasure, may belost forever if significant action is nottaKen.

The burden of planning and imPle-menting a conservation and protectionoriented greenway plan for the River Val-ley has been shared by a multitude ofagencies and organizations, througha"bottom-up" planning process whichseeks to unite resources and the people ofthe region.

Partnerships are being created throug-hout the Valley and surrounding region;new alliances rallying around the green-

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way concept are undertaking concretetasks such as expanding the recognition ofthe Valley as a destination for tourism,expanding public education programs toinclude historic, environmental and cultu-ral opportunities. improving economic op-portunities through cooperation and jointventure designed to take advantage of theValley's unique natural resources.

Capital Area GreenwavSvbtem: A Small Urbah-AreaGieenwaySince the 1950's the City of Raleigh, NorthCarolina, the capital of the State, has beenknown as a "City within a Park." The con-cept for a community wide greenwaysystem was initiated through the efforts ofa persistent group of citizens, known in theearly 1970s as Wake Environments(Raleigh is located within Wake County).These citizens were concerned that theunique natural landscapes of Raleigh werebeing sold and subdivided for private inter-ests, resulting in both the loss of naturalresources and the exclusion of localcitizens from historic and cultural land-scapes. As a result of these concerns, theCapital Area Greenway Program (CAG)was begun in 1974.

The program was, and is to this day,strictly a municlpal program. In its earlyyears, citizens of the community plottedthe direction for the program, establishingstandards for land acquisition, greenwaytrail development, and assistance to citygovernment with promoting the program toother citizens. Beginning in the late 1970sand 1980s Raleigh established the posi-tion of Greenway Planner, one of the firstcity's in the United States to have a dedi-cated government staff position. Duringthe past ten years the responsibility for thesystem has slowly been transformed froma total reliance on local citizen support, toa more "institutional" approach io oper-ation and management.

Today, the CAG Program is a nationalmodel of success, with over 405 hectaresof land available for public use and 48kilometres of multi-surface trails that linkthe community together and malntain the

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city's green image. The greenway systemoffers local residents with easy access tothe unioue native lands and waters of thecommunity, preserves natural and culturalheritage for future city residents, andoffers safe and effective means of alterna-tive transportation, stormwater manage-ment and environmental education.

The City has not forgotten its all import-ant greenway beginnings, and is alwaysencouraging citizens to become activelyinvolved in the planning, design, im-plementation, patrol and maintenance ofthe greenway system.

The Denver MetropolitanGreenway System: A LargeUrban-Ar'ea GreenwayIn May 1965, a torrential down pour rippedthrough the heart of Denver, Colorado, re-sulting in 12 deaths and millions of dollarsof property damage. The day before theflood, the South Platte River was nothingspecial to the residents of Denver. In factthe river served as a polluted dumpingground lined with concrete rubble, junkyards and heavy industry - it was the riverthat everyone had tried to forget. After theflood, the derelict river became the objectof tremendous scrutiny, planning and gran-diose design. Today, the South Platte Riveris a model urban-greenway success story.

The Platte River Greenway system,and its tributary streams, have become aninexpensive alternative to a proposed$600 million flood control project, originallyproposed by the United States Army Corpsof Engineers. The greenway project cost$1 8 million to construct, resulting in a sav-ings of $582 million from the original Corpsproposar.

The greenway provides not only floodcontrol of the South Platte River and itstributarles, but also an interconnected 65-kilometre long system of bicycle paths,pedestrian trails, canoe trails and openspaces. The greenway has been creditedas one of the factors that has revitalizedDenver's Urban Core.

The key to the design of the PlatteRiver Greenway was the recognition anddevelopment of park and recreation nodes

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along a ten mile stretch of the river. Thesepark nodes were connected together by a"ribbon of trails", providing essential link-age between residential and commercialareas, and the park sites. The City initiallyconstructed only two (2) one-mile sectionsof trail to gauge public reaction and ac-ceptance. The local residents of Denverbought into the concept, and have beenadding to the metropolitan greenway sys-tem ever since.

Denver's metropolitan greenway sys-tem offers local residents with a variety ofrecreation activities, including biking, ca-noeing, rafting, kyaking and walking toname a few. The greenway system pro-vides residents with safe access to theflowing waters of the Platte and its tribu-taries, and safe guards the City's urbancore from flooding. Denver, Colorado re-acted positively to a tragic, and all-too-common urban event - stormwaterflooding. The result has been a remarkableimprovement to the City's quality of life,and the orotection of a vital natural re-source.

The Willamette RiverGreenway in Oregon: AState-Wide Green--wayThe Willamette River winds its waythrough 9 counties and 19 municipalitiesfrom Eugene to Portland, Oregon, formingone of the most scenic and fertile rivervalleys in the world.

The Valley is composed of approxi-mately 1.3 million hectares of prime farm-land, where nearly half of Oregon'sagricultural income is generated. Addition-ally, an estimated 70 percent of all Orego-nians live and work within the River Valley.

In 1973, the Oregon General Assemblyenacted the "Greenway Law", which di-rected the Oregon Department of Trans-portation (ODOT) to prepare a master planfor the Willamette River Greenway, deli-neating the Greenway boundary, as wellas lands to be acquired by the State. Theintent of the plan was very broad, to "pro-tect. conserve. enhance and maintain thenatural, scenic, historical, agricultural,economic and recreational qualities of

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lands along the Willamette River as theWillamette River GreenwaY".

Today the Plan is being realizedthrough a two part Process, which isfounded on the creation of public-privatepartnership. State-wide regulation re-quires that local comprehensive plans andordinances be established by county andmunicipal governments within the river val-ley to protect greenway lands. Each re-

spective local agency is responsible formanaging the greenway within its jurisdic-tion.

For example, in Lane CountY, Oregon,approximately 25 percent of the Willa-mette River, or 112 river-kilometres flowsthrough the county. Public-private cooper-ation resulted in the establishment of a21-member Willamette River GreenwayAdvisory Committee. This Committee,made up of citizens from Lane County,reports to the Board of County Commis-sioners regarding the development andmanagement of the Greenway, providesadvice with respect to the States masterplan and actively seeks the input of othercitizens and special interest groups in

planning and developing the Greenway.As the population of the Willamette

River Valley continues to grow, demand formore close-to-home recreational re-sources and interest in the protection anduse of the Willamette River Greenway con-tinues to increase. Public-private partner-

ships among private citizens, localgovernments and the State of Oregon hasresulted in the creation of one of the na-tions finest State-wide greenway system.

Summary/ConclusionWhen the NationalGeographic decided tofeature greenways in the June 1990 issueof the magazine, it was a major decision.First, the magazine staff had to determineif in fact the story of the American Green-ways Movement was worth writing about.Senior writer Noel Grove and photo-grapher Phil Schermeister traveledthroughout the country, talking with green-way advocates and witnessing first handthe unique grassroot results of greenwaycreation. After viewing a number of suc-

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cessful and interesting greenways, theyreported to the senior editors of the maga-zine that the American GreenwayMovement was alive and well, and verydeserving of coverage. The Magazinedevoted 23 pages to the greenway move-ment in an article entitled "Greenways -Paths to the Future."

In many ways, greenways do representa pathway for the future of the UnitedStates. Greenways, as a land use concept,represent a transition of thought in oursociety's occupation of the North Americancontinent, a realization that while we arefirmly in control of our environmental, so-cial and economic destiny, we have manydifficult and important land use decisionsto make. In order to make correct deci-sions, we Americans must foster a betterappreciation of the outdoor environment,become better educated to the comolexand interrelated processes of ecologicalsystems, and strive to achieve a balancebetween our need to use resources to ad-vance our society, and the need to protectthese resources from the exoloitation of arapidly growing nation. Our challenge isformidable, but attainable.

Today, I have shared with you thediverse images, the descriptive words andthe aspirations of the American GreenwayMovement. As Charles E. Little so elo-quently states in his book Greenways forAmerica "this is the story of a remarkablecitizen-led movement to get us out of ourcars and into the landscape - on paths andtrails through corridors of green that canlink city to country and people to naturefrom one end of America to the other." lt isa bold vision for the United States, and onethat I know many Americans would like toachieve.

In closing, I would like to share with youa slogan which was adopted by the CapitalArea Greenway Commission in 1974, asthey sought to define what greenwaysmeant to their community. lt is a philos-ophy which I feel has application to thefuture of the United States and perhapseven the World. Greenways mean "Toleave for our grandchildren what ourgrandparents enjoyed as childrentrees, streams and that quiet place fromwhich to draw strength."

Footnotes:

1 Little, 1990, Greenways for America, p.7-25' Report of the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors,^ pp.142' Report of the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors,

pp.27

1987, lsland Press,

1987, lsland Press,

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