Information AboutGreen Belt |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GREEN BELT | |
| real estate | |
| urban studies and planning | |
| town and country planning in the united kingdom | |
| local government in the united kingdom | |
| housing in the united kingdom | |
|
A green belt or '''greenbelt''' is a policy or land use designation used in Land Use Planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural Land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. The original concept ( Umweltamt ) for the City of Frankfurt is of Ernst May in de 20's. Similar concepts are ''' Greenways ''' or '''green wedges''' which have a linear character and may run through an urban area instead of around it. PURPOSES In those countries which have them, development in green belt areas is heavily restricted. The stated objectives of green belt policy are to:
The Greenbelt has many benefits for people :
The effectiveness of green belts differs depending on location and country. They can often be eroded by Urban Rural Fringe uses and sometimes, development 'jumps' over the green belt area, resulting in the creation of "satellite towns" which, although separated from the city by green belt, function more like suburbs than independent communities. Green belt policy was pioneered in the , Canada . The more general term in the U.S. is green space or '''greenspace''', which may be a very small area such as a Park . The concept of "green belt" has evolved in recent years to encompass not only "Greenspace" but also "Greenstructure", taking into account all urban greenspaces, an important aspect of sustainable development in the 21st. century. The European Commission 's COST Action C11 (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) is undertaking "Case studies in Greenstructure Planning" involving 15 European countries. An act of the Swedish Parliament from 1994 has declared a series of parks in Stockholm and the adjacent municipality of Solna to its north a "national city park" called Ekoparken (the "Eco park"; it stretches from the parks surrounding the royal palaces of Ulriksdal and Haga in Solna, through the Brunnsviken area, down to the former royal hunting grounds of North and South Djurgården ). CRITICISM A different/contrarian interpretation of the green belt's effects/motivation (for example, suggested by economist Status Quo of those already living within the zone, and especially the advantage of Landlords who profit from a scarcity of housing (see above, "preserving the character of rural communities"). In this interpretation, while the stated motivation and benefits of the green belt are nominally well-intentioned (public health, environment), there is not strong proof that these benefits accrue as intentioned or claimed (for example, only a small fraction of the population ever sets foot on the green belt for leisure purposes, and a green belt is not strongly causally linked to clean air and water). Rather, the ultimate result or hidden purpose of the decision to green belt a city, for individuals who do not already enjoy it from the "inside", is to create a strong barrier to entry by the poor, an exacerbation of high prices by concentrating demand within the zone (and preserving interested parties' economic advantages), and stifling of competitive forces in general. NOTABLE GREENBELTS Australia
Canada
New Zealand
Philippines
Sweden United Kingdom See Also: green belt (UK)
United States
REFERENCES SEE ALSO
|
|
|