Urban Regions : Ecology and Planning Beyond the City

10 8Natural systems and greenspaces

Table4.1Greenspaces forming broad- and fine-scale patterns in three major portions of

an urban region

City and Metropolitan Area

Broad-scale pattern of large greenspaces

Corridors: (a) river corridor with floodplain; (b) highway corridor; (c) railway corridor;

(d) coastline; (e) steep slope

Patches:(a) large urban wood-lawn park; (b) large semi-natural park; (c) lower floodplain/

delta area; (d) railway yard; (e) zoo

Fine-scale pattern of small greenspaces

Corridors:(a) tree line; (b) shrub line; (c) row of greenspace stepping stones

Patches:(a) small urban wood-lawn park; (b) small semi-natural area; (c) historic/cultural

site; (d) vacant lot; (e) school yard; (f) cemetery; (g) street-side planted spot; (h) green

roof

Metro-area Border and Inner Urban-region Ring

Corridors

Wide: (a) greenbelt (or urban growth boundary); (b) ring of large parks; (c) greenway;

(d) green wedge

Medium to wide:(a) stream or canal corridor; (b) pipeline corridor; (c) electric powerline

corridor; (d) roadside; (e) tree/shrub line; (f) row of greenspace stepping stones;

(g) string of pearls

Patches

Large to medium:(a) heterogeneous suburban park; (b) large natural or semi-natural

area; (c) golf course; (d) botanical garden; (e) market-gardening (truck-farming) area;

(f) nursery-plants area; (g) lake; (h) wetland; (i) office-park area; (j) shopping center;

(k) industrial area; (l) brownfield (with chemical pollution); (m) race track site;

(n) municipal-use space

Medium:(a) small semi-natural area; (b) crop field; (c) meadow or fallow field;

(d) community garden (allotment garden, leisure garden, war garden); (e) waterworks/

supply facility; (f) sewage-treatment facility; (g) solid-waste/recycling site; (h)

cemetery; (i) sand-and-gravel site; (j) large shrubby patch

Outer Urban-region Ring

Broad-scale pattern of large greenspaces

Corridors and networks: (a) river corridor; (b) highway corridor and rectilinear network;

(c) coastline; (d) pipeline; (e) electric powerline; (f) emerald network

Patches and background matrix:(a) cropland landscape or matrix; (b) forest/woodland

landscape or matrix; (c) grassland landscape or matrix; (d) desert landscape or

matrix; (e) low-density residential area

Fine-scale pattern of small greenspaces

Corridors and networks: (a) stream corridor and dendritic network; (b) canal corridor and

dendritic/rectilinear network; (c) hedgerow

Patches:(a) lake; (b) reservoir; (c) wetland (marsh, peatland, swamp); (d) rock quarry;

(e) sand-and-gravel site