Green Infrastructure

Just as communities have a built “gray” infrastructure of roads, sewers, and utilities, they also have a green infrastructure of green spaces including parks, gardens, trees, waterways, and other open spaces. Green infrastructure helps preserve essential ecological functions and can be used as a tool for flood control, storm water management, carbon sequestration, climate adaptation, maintaining biodiversity, food production, improving air quality, cleaning water and conserving healthy soils. Green infrastructure also provides anthropocentric functions such as improved quality of life, recreational opportunities, scenic values, shade for cooling, and better health in and around towns and cities. Green infrastructure practices incorporate both the natural environment and engineered systems to provide clean water, conserve ecosystem functions, and provide a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife. Green infrastructure may include a network of decentralized storm water management practices, such as green roofs, trees, rain gardens, and permeable pavement, that can capture and in infiltrate rain where it falls, thus reducing storm water runoff and improving the health of surrounding waterways.