Greenways for America (1990)

From Brooklyn’s parks and parkways, across the Iowa prairie, to Big Sur’s coastal highway, people are drawing green lines on local maps and building “greenways”- linear open spaces that preserve and restore the skein of nature in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. This book describes this remarkable citizen-led effort to get Americans out of their cars and into the landscape via greenways. Such greenways provide paths or trails for recreation and “link” a region’s traditional parks and open spaces. They preserve natural corridors for wildlife migration and protect scenic and historic routes from commercial development. In this first comprehensive account of the movement that is now gathering power in every region of the country, Little describes dozens of greenway projects that have improved environmental quality, invigorated local economies, and preserved outdoor space for millions of citizens.