A Greenway Network for a more Sustainable Auckland

Since the early 1970s, there has been a growing understanding that the form and function typical to many urban areas is unsustainable. Significant problems are evident in many urban areas today, such as air, water, and noise pollution, lack of green/open spaces, and inefficient transport systems. Given urban areas are home to around half the world's population, it is vital that efforts are made to improve their sustainability for the well-being of present and future generations. This paper shows that greenways, especially greenway networks, are an important planning tool to improve urban sustainability. Essentially, greenways are linear green open spaces established along natural or man-made corridors. Their potential to enhance urban sustainability lies in the wide range of environmental, economic and social benefits greenways can provide. To employ this tool, a GIS-based methodology for planning greenway networks is proposed. The generation of these networks is based on a nodal and connectivity analysis and is supported through the GIS environment. Using this methodology, a master plan of a greenway network is developed for the Auckland Isthmus (New Zealand).