Regional Blue-Green Infrastructure Project

The Richmond Regional Planning District Commission and the Crater Planning District Commission are proud to announce the commencement of an exciting, new blue-green infrastructure planning effort. This endeavor is part of a multi-year grant project focused on Sustainable Communities that is funded through the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program.

Green infrastructure is a concept that has become increasingly popular over the past twenty years in the fields of land use and environmental planning. However, the green infrastructure concept originated well over one hundred years ago with planning and conservation efforts from landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, various wildlife biologists, and ecologists. These early leaders espoused the importance of an organized conservation system for the health and well-being of both humans and wildlife. Generally defined, green infrastructure is a strategically managed network of natural lands, working lands and other natural spaces, that provides numerous benefits – ecological and economic - to human and wildlife populations. More specifically, green infrastructure provides for habitat preservation and diversity, water filtration and storage, and improved air quality.

The two Planning District Commissions have joined with the Green Infrastructure Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the Capital Region Land Conservancy for a regional green infrastructure planning project entitled Green Infrastructure Planning Tools for Connected Communities. A review committee has been created to inform the project as work progresses; the committee consists of local government representatives, land conservation groups, and other project partner organizations. The aim of the committee is to ensure that stakeholder input is seriously considered in the green infrastructure mapping and planning effort. The green infrastructure planning effort will begin by looking at a statewide conservation lands model, the Virginia Conservation Lands Needs Assessment. Regionally and locally available data on existing conserved lands and other green infrastructure resource assets will also be studied. Representatives from the localities and other members of the review committee will provide insight and context for the data analysis and planning process. The result of this project, ending in April 2009, will be an accurate and relevant regional green infrastructure map for the entire region.

Richmond Region Green Infrastructure Project Report

The Richmond Region Green Infrastructure Project Report was produced by the Green Infrastructure Center in cooperation with the RRPDC and the Capital Region Land Conservancy. The report explains the green infrastructure concept, identifies green infrastructure assets in the region as well as opportunities for connection and expansion of these assets.

September 12, 2008 Review Committee Meeting:

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Presentation: Karen Firehock and Alisa Hefner. Regional Green Infrastructure Project. Green Infrastructure Center. Richmond Regional Planning District Commission Offices. September 12, 2008.

February 2, 2009 Review Committee meeting:

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Presentation: Karen Firehock, Alisa Hefner, and Sarah Smith. Regional Green Infrastructure Project Meeting # 2. Green Infrastructure Center. Richmond Regional Planning District Commission Offices. February 2, 2009.

February 12, 2009 RRPDC Board Meeting:

Meeting Presentation

March 13, 2009 Richmond Regional Green Infrastructure Workshop:

Materials and Presentations

Maps & Other Resources:

Study Area Map

Ecological Core Map

Ecological Core Map – Updated 2007

Ecological Integrity and Conservation Map

Natural Resource Based Recreation Map

Heritage Resources Map

Water Resources Map