Community Open Space in Suburban Developments: Does it work?

This project links three aspects of urban forest and open space protection within residential developments: the science of the benefits of green infrastructure, the design and planning practices intended to achieve those benefits, and the legal tools needed to protect the forests and open spaces. Therefore, the goal of this project is to clarify the link between the best design and management practices for green infrastructure in urban and suburban residential developments, and the code requirements that created them.

The planning and design goals for many new developments and redevelopments are laudable: they include the creation of active and passive recreational areas, stormwater quality enhancements, wildlife habitat, space for urban agriculture and as a visual and health-giving buffer to the hard surfaces of urban areas. But the link between the pre-development goals and codes, and the actual function 10 to 20 years after development, has not been extensively studied. This project studies 14 developments in five regions of the United States in three categories: neotraditional (New Urbanist); conservation subdivisions and conventional subdivisions. The goal of the studies is to link the stated goals of the local legislative body and the developers with the actual outcome in urban forest and open space conservation. The insights gained can result in improvements both design and legislative best practices for community development codes.

Credits: This project was supported by the US Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program on the recommendation of the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council.

Principal Investigator:

Elizabeth Brabec, Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Co-Investigator: Craig Johnson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Utah State University, Logan Utah.

Graduate Student Researchers:

Native plants and site analysis: Sarah Rigard, Utah State University

GIS: Vratislava Janovska, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague
Ailea Omotosho, Stella Lensing, Tara Germond, Zach Silverman, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Codes: Pedro Miguel Soto, Paul Gagnon, Jonathan Hymer, University of Massachusetts Amherst