Green Infrastructure Planning: Cross-National Analysis between the North East of England (UK) and Catalonia (Spain)

Abstract

As green infrastructure (GI) plans are being developed and implemented in a number of regions throughout the UK and interest in the theory and methods is emerging in various other countries there is opportunity to explore the potentials for GI planning throughout Europe. Using the experience of the UK, and particularly that of stakeholders and organizations in the North East of England, we analyse the functions and benefits that a GI network can provide and, through cross-national comparison, we critically theorize the potentials for GI planning in Catalonia. While recognizing that there are key differences between these regions, particularly in relation to climate, societal characteristics, institutional organizations and frameworks for landscape planning, we discuss the transferability of the characteristics which appear to be provided from GI planning in the UK. We conclude that, overall, the implementation of GI planning would be relatively easy to achieve and mostly beneficial under a Mediterranean environment. Our conclusions are tempered by a recognition that the provision of functions and benefits are subject to the influence of the particular organizational characteristics and the cultural background of each region, and in particular the different impacts that climate change is likely to have.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the organisers of the workshop related to the Green Infrastructure Study carried out on behalf of Newcastle City Council and Gateshead City Council and the organisers from Natural England of the Developing the Green potential in the North East workshop in Durham, and also Clive Davies, Honorary Research Fellow at Newcastle University for their participation in this study and for fruitful discussion over the issues we raised. Financial support was received from the University of Girona through the Mobility Program for Researchers UdG, 2009.

Notes

See Natural England website on European Landscape Convention information and statement. Available at http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/landscape/protection/europeanconvention/default.aspx (accessed 12 February 2010).