|
Green Community Connections Project
In July 2007, the Green Infrastructure Center began green infrastructure planning demonstration projects in Virginia. The goal of the project is to field test practical methods for conserving wildlife corridors and maximizing protection of environmental and cultural resources, such as trails or historic sites. The first project began in summer 2007 in Madison County, a rural county located in central Virginia.
Madison County was selected as the first field test project because it contains more than 170 intact habitat cores based on the Virginia Conservation Lands Needs Assessment as well as working farms and forests that the community wishes to protect. Since Madison County still has much intact habitat, this project will seek to demonstrate how early planning can serve to protect green infrastructure resources.
Initial funding for the project has been provided by the Virginia Department of Forestry and the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry program. The field test project team involves center staff, University of Virginia graduate students, Madison County officials, and staff from Virginia state agencies. The first step in the project is to review the newly finalized Virginia data on intact habitat cores and corridors. The project team will then review the county’s comprehensive plan, land use plans, and zoning to determine whether and how these policies and regulations conserve ecological, cultural, and economic assets identified on the state map. The community will also share their goals and values concerning what they wish to conserve. Based on the data and community input, the team will propose strategic actions that seek to maximize habitat conservation while meeting the county’s new comprehensive plan goals to protect working farms, forests, and natural assets.
Future field test projects will be selected within Virginia to maximize opportunities for testing different assessment methods. For example, a future field test project might include an urban area in order to study options for increasing and restoring green infrastructure in developed areas, while another project might focus on regional or interstate connections to demonstrate processes for regional and cross-jurisdictional cooperation for green infrastructure planning. If you would like to suggest project selection criteria or you would like to suggest a field test project, please contact the center.
 These field test projects will be used to generate new methods for green infrastructure planning that will be available for use by communities, planners, developers, conservation groups, and citizens who want to protect and/or restore their community’s green assets. While these initial field test projects are being conducted in Virginia, other center projects will be national and international in scope.
Back to Top of Page
Water and Community Health
In May 2007, Center Director Karen Firehock travelled to the Venda Region of northern South Africa with faculty and students from the University of Virginia to learn about and plan for a project to evaluate problems related to water infrastructure and community health. According to health workers in the Venda Region, the percent of people living with HIV in some segments of the population is as high as 40 percent. Lack of access to fresh and safe water can have dire consequences for those living with HIV. Water-borne diseases cause diarrhea that leaves its sufferers dehydrated, malnourished, and more prone to infections. In addition, diarrhea may prevent the absorption of patients' life-saving anti-HIV medications.
In addition, studies have shown that lack of access to clean water is one of the top problems faced by local family caregivers for people living with HIV. The caregivers are often not able to keep patients clean and hydrated because of water scarcity. Time spent fetching water that is miles away can reduce time available for patient care.
The water and community health project was developed to address the critical problem caused by the lack of access to clean water across the globe. The next step will be to convene a joint workshop in 2008 with partners from both countries to develop a shared research agenda and future project plans. Staff from the Green Infrastructure Center and students and faculty from the University of Virginia and the University of Venda for Science and Technology in South Africa will work with local South African communities to assess their water infrastructure in terms of access, health, and safety. Team members will then work to develop and implement solutions to identified problems.
Results from this multi-year project will be reviewed and shared with other regions and countries interested in implementing community-based approaches to water infrastructure protection.
Back to Top of Page
|
