Green Infrastructure Strategies of Nashville

SPEAKERS

Chris Armour is vice chair of the Metro Nashville Tree Advisory Committee and co-founder of Trees Nashville, a nonprofit that is working to teach Nashville the value of its urban forest

Kim Hawkins is a founding principal in Nashville-based Hawkins Partners, landscape architects and was a founding board member of the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council.

PROGRAM

I. Nashville Naturally

II. Urban Tree Canopy Assessment

III. Green Infrastructure Strategies

Market Place of Ideas

By Will Allen & Ole M. Amundsen The Conservation Fund

Background

Project Blog site http://nashvilleopenspace.wordpress.com

The goal is to make the City of Nashville the greenest city in the Southeast balancing conservation and development.

Planning Process and Engagement

Focus Groups

March 2010

Public Forums

June 2010

Advisory Committee Meeting

January 2010

Market Place of Ideas

Sept 2010

Final Presentation

Nov 2010

We are here

Monthly Reports to the Advisory Committee

Themes

1. Connecting People to the Green Infrastructure Network2. Connecting Wildlife and Water Networks3. Urban and Rural Farming and Food Security4. Preserving Our Historic and Iconic Sites

Thematic Goals

1. The most interconnected network of parks and greenways in the Southeast 2. Protected, interconnected natural land and water network with multiple benefits. 3. Sustainable, local food system in rural and urban areas

4. Preservation of our scenic and historic beauty

A strategically planned and managed network of natural lands, working landscapes, and other open spaces that conserves ecosystem values and functions and provides associated benefits to human populations

Green Infrastructure – What is it?

Facts and Figures

Total County Land Area: 336,386 acres  Metro Parks Acreage 10,392 acres (3%)

Public Open Space and Easements: 22,505 acres (6.7%)Dedicated Open Space (Community Plan, Floodplain + Buffer) 22,516 acres (6.7%)Open Water (Reservoirs + Cumberland River): 13,267 acres (3.9%)

All Open Space and Open Water Subtotal: 58,288 acres (17.3%)

Community Plan Potential Open Space 2,197 acres (0.7%)

Green Infrastructure Hubs (Protected or Regulated) 14,356 acres (4.3%)Unprotected Green Infrastructure Hubs 101,240 acres (30.0%) 

Photo of Mill Creek by Nancy Rhoda

Greenest in the SE

Preliminary Ideas by The Conservation Fund:

Conserve12,000 acres by 2035

Remove all impaired waterways by 2020

Restore the Nashville Crayfish

All residents within ½ mile of a park

Add 160 miles of new greenways by 2035

Implement Urban Tree Canopy Study

Implement Metro Water Services Plan

Your Additional Ideas TOO!

City Total Protected Lands

Austin 26,810

Nashville/Dav. 22,505

Charlotte/Meckl. 19,385

Louisville 15,902

Raleigh 12,403

Indianapolis 11,137

Memphis 9,140

Atlanta 3,867

Photo by Laura Brown

Mitigation Bank

Fee Simple Acquisition

Conservation Development

Historic Site

Working Lands Stewardship

Floodplain Regulation

Conservation Easement

Park Site

Implementation Quilt

WHAT IS THE TREE CANOPY?

The tree canopy is the extent of trees, branches, and leavesthat cover the ground when viewed from above.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Best way to determine the location, size, and extent of the urban forest

Increase decision-makers’ understanding of urban forest resources

Determine the amount of tree canopy that currently exists and the amount that could exist

URBAN FORESTRY IN NASHVILLE, PUBLIC

Codes Forester

Public Works

Metro Parks

Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency

Water Services

Metro Tree Advisory Committee

Urban Forester position

Cooperation among departments

Tree canopy assessment

METRO TREE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

TREES FOR A BETTER NASHVILLE

Water Services

Public Works

Parks & Recreation

Codes

Planning

Schools

Housing

US Forest Service

State Division of Forestry

Nashville Electric Service

Metro Council Members

Activists

Nonprofits

GREENEST CITY IN THE SOUTHEAST

CITY TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROJECT

Metro Tree Advisory Committee discussed goals and objectives for assessment

MTAC members wrote grant application and RFP

UTC Committee composed of department andMTAC representatives reviewed documents

Public Works secured matching funds

UTC Committee chose vendor

Planning Department supplied data

UTC Committee reviewed findings

TWO YEARS LATER

NASHVILLE’S TREE CANOPY ASSESSMENT

The tree canopy assessment project

OBJECTIVES

Determine the percentage of tree canopy in the county

Determine distribution of that canopy

Increase city decision makers’ understanding of their urban forest resources

Help set specific, measurable, and attainable tree canopy goals

DATA NEEDED

High-resolution imagery

Supporting GIS layers

Land cover data

Geographic boundaries

DATA SUPPLIED BY FEDERAL AGENCIES

High-resolution imagery from 2008

National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) with 1-meter spatial resolution

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data with elevation data for canopy height information and support of the land cover classification

DATA SUPPLIED BY METRO PLANNING

Supporting GIS layers

Geographic boundaries and property parcels

Landuse: parks, agriculture, vacant lots,

Council districts and community sub-areas

Hydrology: lakes, ponds, rivers and streams

Impervious surfaces: buildings, streets, sidewalks, and parking lots

Nashville Electric Service powerline corridors

METHODOLOGY

High-resolution aerial photography

METHODOLOGY

Identify man-made structures

METHODOLOGY

Divide into land-use categories

METHODOLOGY

Example of land-use categories

WORKFLOW

FINDINGS

1. 47% of Nashville is shaded by trees that need protection to prevent losses.

2. 35% of the county has places to plant trees.

3. Nashville has a relatively healthy tree canopy but results are skewed by rural areas. Urban areas have a lot of room for improvement.

4. Formula for success involves multiple stakeholders.

CANOPY BY NEIGHBORHOOD

FINDINGS

FINDINGS

Distribution of

existing UTC by

land use

HOW DOES NASHVILLE COMPARE?

Atlanta 27%

Baltimore 27%

Boston 29%

Dallas 30%

Los Angeles 21%

Milwaukee 21%

Nashville

47%

Providence

23%

Salt Lake City

14%

Seattle

23%

St. Louis

43%

Washington DC

35%

FINDINGSFINDINGS

35% of the county could add trees.

7% of that total is impervious surfaces.

That’s 119,000 acres of additional trees.

OPPORTUNITIES

Existing Potential

Commercial and industrial 15% 27%

Single family residential 44% 37%

Downtown 4.5% 16%

Public rights-of-way represent 9% of the land area yet contain only 3% of UTC.

TOOLS INTERACTIVE MAP

TOOLS INTERACTIVE MAP

TOOLSUTC CALCULATOR

TOOLSCANOPY BY COUNCIL DISTRICT

TOOLSPOTENTIAL BY COUNCIL DISTRICT

NEXT STEPS

Set canopy goals that are realistic and measurable.

Start planting trees!

MORE INFORMATION

www.treesnashville.org/tca.html

QUESTIONS?

Chris Armour, Trees Nashville Christopher@treesnashville.org

www.treesnashville.org

Heather Langford, TUFC hlangford@gmail.com