Sustainable Cities

The Greenway cities are attractive and dynamic places to live, work and play.  This region continues to be at the forefront of the sustainability movement and our cities are the driving force behind the push to balance smart growth and natural resource conservation.

Greenway Trust staff and partners work with the communities throughout the Greenway on their particular growth management challenges.  This progressive work is varied and widespread including connecting regional bicycle trails to enable bicycle commuting, restoring natural lands, planting trees and shrubs, and enabling land acquisition efforts.  We meet with communities and find commonality with groups.  We then work with these groups to identify assets, threats to them, and seek ways to preserve and enhance them.

For the Greenway cities, having the Greenway Trust as a conservation-based ally is quite valuable as they face challenges to their growth plans.  It is essential that the Greenway urban areas ensure they can absorb coming growth with the proper infrastructure and amenities needed to retain global competitiveness and urban vibrancy, while protecting nearby natural areas from urban sprawl.  This is smart growth planning that encourages economic vitality and conserves healthy ecosystems.