How greenways can boost nature-positive living by shaping urban mobility

By viewing parks, green roofs, waterways and street trees as a cohesive network, cities can maximize the ecological, social and economic benefits that nature provides. That’s why building connectivity through green corridors – or greenways – is a win-win: it’s good for nature and for active mobility – and it should be the backbone for nature-positive urban planning.

Cities in China and Costa Rica are using greenways to shape urban mobility and build stronger connections between their citizens and the surrounding natural environment. These multipurpose paths or strips of land are protected for environmental and recreational purposes. It can be helpful to think of greenways in terms of nodes connected by systems such as paths or waterways.

Water bodies are key urban corridors to plan greenways around. Shared-use paths designed along river systems and other water bodies can maximize social and environmental benefits by regenerating surrounding ecosystems to provide open and accessible space for people and wildlife, and to create natural protection.

The fields of forestry, ecology, biodiversity and urban planning are rooted in the understanding that complex, interrelated systems are built from nodes of activity that are linked together. Nodes act as hubs, such as a community park where people can connect to one another and to nature.

When joined with other spaces by green corridors, a network of nodes supports a much larger system that unites the fundamentals of urban and ecological design. These structures act as sites for ecosystem services, community engagement and wellbeing.

Rutas Naturbanas is a citizen-led urban planning solution developed and introduced in the metropolitan region of San José in Costa Rica to address riverbank ecosystem regeneration. Riverbanks in Costa Rica are private property and Rutas Naturbanas coordinates numerous independent property owners and multiple private sector organizations to create 40 km of nature paths.

The project has incorporated nature into all steps of planning and design, including the use of low-impact construction methods and structures that limit floods, water runoff and landslides. It also incorporates native flora to create a resilient habitat that provides food and shelter to local fauna and improves soil quality.

The rivers that traverse the capital region pose flooding and landslide threats. Crossings are also limited, creating connection and mobility challenges for both citizens and local fauna. So, infrastructure was developed around independent micro-ecosystems across the city, such as parks, schools, available spaces and existing pedestrian boulevards.

Planning and design was conducted closely with residents and other stakeholders, incorporating citizen awareness strategies and promoting public-private partnerships with developers, as well as working closely with the local government to adapt policies.

China introduced its Action Plan for Green Mobility in 2020 to guide its cities in adopting strategies that promote public transport, walking and cycling, while reducing emissions and private vehicle use.

Global non-profit, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) has been supporting the southern city of Guangzhou, which is home to 15 million people, in implementing infrastructure that prioritizes greener mobility. This includes developing pedestrian- and cycling-friendly greenways, parks and open spaces to better connect its public transport and bus systems with accessible and sustainable streets. The plan also incorporates better water and flood management.

The city has now built more than 600 km of greenways and lanes for walking or cycling. Many of these routes include natural measures like native landscaping, grass-planting ditches, and stone and rain irrigation gardens. The city’s greenways also provide new social and environmental facilities that connect with its famed Pearl River, helping enhance the mobility of both local people and wildlife.

According to ITDP’s research, Guangzhou’s networks of safer, greener infrastructure – particularly protected lanes for cyclists – help save about 16,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year from driving. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon that could be sequestered by planting 3-400,000 new trees every year.

Integrating nature into the built environment means adapting policies, identifying co-benefits, encouraging stakeholder participation and staging interventions. Experiences in cities such as San José and Guangzhou show that a successful approach to introducing urban green corridors should involve:

1. Building robust frameworks for integrating and regenerating nature with planning

When planning to integrate nature into an urban space, policies and guidelines should require a biological approach to development, regeneration and inclusion across a city.

2. Supporting nature in tandem with mobility corridors

To support both human mobility and wildlife connectivity, cities need to design built environments and active mobility corridors that integrate blue-green infrastructure such as trees, woodlands, green roofs, community gardens and waterways.

3. Promoting the use of interdisciplinary and participatory planning approaches

To shape a city’s political agenda to be more nature-positive, communities and formal grassroots organizations can use collective action to inform interventions.

4. Demonstrating economic benefits to bolster private sector investment

Rutas Naturbanas was able to show that the estimated economic impact of the greenway for real estate developers in the area could be approximately $317 million. This is because nearby properties benefit from access to the greenway, as well as improved landscaping and community atmosphere due to the regeneration of the area.

Nature-centric spatial planning is essential for promoting mobility networks that serve nature and people’s needs in cities. By requiring careful evaluation of the impact of urban design, the enhancement of surrounding areas and the effective management of natural capital, cities can use greenways to ensure a sustainable, healthy and prosperous future.

This article is part of Nature Positive: Leaders’ Insights for the Transition in Cities, a report by the Global Commission on Nature-Positive Cities offering a range of strategies and practical solutions adaptable to diverse urban environments and supporting a shift towards nature-positive city developments.

Nature-Positive Cities is an initiative by the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Oliver Wyman.