Green spaces such as parks and street trees are important assets for urban communities. As well as providing recreational opportunities and aesthetic value for local residents, these areas provide ecosystem services (eg. maintenance of air quality) that are vital to maintaining local quality of life and support local biodiversity. However, municipalities must manage urban green spaces carefully to ensure that they are able to provide all of the above services. This is often difficult in light of problems such as limited municipal resources and conflicting uses of green space areas.
Changing Places: Development and Implementation of Green Space Management Plans is an initiative of the Institute of Urban Ecology that addressed some of the issues municipalities face in managing local green space. First, we identified the type of information municipalities require to assess and manage green spaces and secondly, to develop strategies for implementing management plans once they are in place. The Changing Places Project encompasses specific work IUE staff and volunteers are doing for the Cities of Surrey and Coquitlam to assist them in developing and implementing their green space management plans. A one-day workshop on the implementation of community green space management plans for planners, parks departments, non-governmental organizations, and others was held at Douglas College on June 2, 2003.
Changing Places: Development and Implementation of Green Space Management Plans is an initiative of the Institute of Urban Ecology that addressed some of the issues municipalities face in managing local green space. First, we identified the type of information municipalities require to assess and manage green spaces and secondly, to develop strategies for implementing management plans once they are in place. The Changing Places Project encompasses specific work IUE staff and volunteers are doing for the Cities of Surrey and Coquitlam to assist them in developing and implementing their green space management plans. A one-day workshop on the implementation of community green space management plans for planners, parks departments, non-governmental organizations, and others was held at Douglas College on June 2, 2003.