Green Infrastructure Planning

Green Infrastructure: Our Natural Life Support System

When you think of the word, "infrastructure", what comes to mind? Roads, water and sewer lines,

telephone

lines, schools or water treatment plants, perhaps? We often think of these types of

infrastructure as bray

infrastructure" or "built infrastructure". By definition, infrastructure refers to "the

basic, underlying framework

or features of a system or organization;

the fundamental facilities and

systems serving a country, city, or

area". Built infrastructure is developed as systems created to support

the many needs of growing communities.

When we talk about

green infrastructure,

we are referring to the underlying framework of

natural systems

that

serve a country, city, or area.

Our green infrastructure is an interconnected network of natural lands

and other

open spaces, including forests, streams and rivers, meadows, farmlands, wetlands, ridge tops,

bogs, caves

that provide key services to our communities.

These services included clean air and water,

food and fibers,

wood products, recreation opportunities, and many others. Healthy natural systems

provide wildlife habitat for

critters, soils and micro-climates for plants to survive, and ensure important

ecological functions that sustains

interdependent web that supports all living things.

A green infrastructure network includes:

Natural areas and green spaces, including forests, streams, lakes, meadows, balds, bogs, and
wetlands that provide habitat for wildlife and sustain ecological processes.
Recreation lands, including trails, parks, and rivers
Agricultural Lands, including farms and forests
Cultural Sites, including historic sites and other sites important in preserving our region’s heritage

A System of Hubs, Links, and Sites

A Green infrastructure network can be envisioned as a system of hubs, links and sites.

Hubs are large blocks of unfragmented natural systems that anchor green infrastructure networks.

      Hubs provides space for native plants and animal communities and an origin or destination for wildlife,
      people and ecological processes moving through the system. Examples of hubs in our region include:
      Pisgah National Forests, DuPont State Forest, Gorges State Park.

Links are the linear corridors that connect the hubs and tie the system together.

      These linkages are critical to maintaining vital ecological processes and maintaining the health and
      biodiversity of wildlife populations; Linkages are often river corridors, greenways, or trail systems
      which may also provide recreation value for residents and visitors. Examples of potential linkages in our
      region include: the French Broad River, Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Appalachian Trail.

Sites are smaller areas of green space that contribute ecological and social values to the region's

       communities. Sites may or may not be attached to the network formed by the hubs and links, and
       may include community parks, recreation areas, and cultural sites. Examples of sites in our region may
       include Jackson Park in Hendersonville, Azalea Park or Carrier Park in Asheville, or the Carl Sandburg
       House (National Historic Park) in Flat Rock.