INTRODUCTION

Green Infrastructure planning in the UK is a relatively new concept but one that is readily being accepted into most levels of green space planning policy. With its roots in the disciplines of Landscape Ecology and Human Geography the principles of landscape connectivity, multi-functionality and sustainability are deemed elements of the Green Infrastructure concept. Green Infrastructure planning can thus be viewed as a process through which some of the main elements of Green Urbanism thanking can be delivered as multiple scales (NOTE 1).

Through its development and inclusion in local, regional and national planning policies in the UK Green Infrastructure planning has started to penetrate the wider debates in contemporary planning providing a forum where ecological functions can be discussed at the same time as more traditional infrastructures (i.e. telecommunications or transport). Within this report the term Green Infrastructure relates to the following definition:

.the provision of planned networks of linked multifunctional green spaces that contribute to protecting natural habitats and biodiversity, enable response to climate change and other biosphere changes, enable more sustainable and healthy lifestyles, enhance urban livability and well-being, improve the accessibility of key recreational and green assets, support the urban and rural economy and assist in the better long-term planning and management of green spaces and corridors.

Countryside Agency (2006:1, NOTE 2)

The growing use of the Green Infrastructure concept has also been seen in the planning policy developed in the UK since 2000. The Urban Renaissance (DETR, 2000), the Sustainable Communities Agenda (ODPM, 2005), the Countryside in and Around Towns agenda (Countryside Agency and Groundwork, 2005) and the Community Forests 'Quality of place, Quality of life' (England's Community Forests, 2004) documents have all promoted the use Green Infrastructures as a method of delivery multiple benefits at a number of scales.

Each of these agendas has promoted the role Green Infrastructure can play in delivering urban renewal policies and creating better places to live, work and recreate. They also highlight the links between human interactions with the environment and the role played by the economy, environment and social equity principles that underlie the sustainable development agenda. These policies thus provide a clear foundation on which Green Infrastructure planning can be developed and highlight the roles policy integration and strategic partnerships as essential elements in green space planning. Within this report the themes of economic development, environmental sustainability and social equity will be reviewed to show how each of the case studies are incorporating these themes into practical Green Infrastructure delivery.

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NOTE 1. Green Urbanism is described by Tim Beatley (1999)as comprising the following elements; a. cities that strive to live within their ecological limits, fundamentally reduce their ecological footprints, and acknowledge their connections with and impacts on other cities, b. cities that are green and are designed for and function in ways analogous to nature, c. cities that strive to achieve circular rather than linear metabolism d. strive towards local and regional self-sufficiency to support its population internally, e. cities that facilitate more sustainable and healthy lifestyles and f. cities that emphasize a high quality of life, place and environment.