An open space reserve (also called open space preserve, open space reservation, and green space) is an area of protected or conserved land or water on which development is indefinitely set aside. The purpose of an open space reserve may include the

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

of a community or region's

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are de ...

natural or historic character; the conservation or preservation of a land or water area for the sake of

recreational Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleas ...

, ecological,

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

, or

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

interests; or the management of a community or region's

growth Growth may refer to: Biology * Auxology, the study of all aspects of human physical growth * Bacterial growth * Cell growth * Growth hormone, a peptide hormone that stimulates growth * Human development (biology) * Plant growth * Secondary growth ...

in terms of development, industry, or

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

s extraction. Open space reserves may be

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

, or rural; they may be actual designated areas of land or water, or they may be

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

districts or overlays where development is limited or controlled to create undeveloped areas of land or water within a community or region. They may be publicly owned or owned by

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

or private interests. A certain amount of overlap occurs with similar planning and conservation terms.

Protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s are open space reserves in which certain resources indigenous to the landscape are protected as opposed to conserved.

Urban open space In land-use planning, urban green space is open space reserve, open-space areas reserved for parks and other "green spaces", including plant life, water features -also referred to as blue spaces- and other kinds of natural environment. Most urb ...

specifically refers to open space reserves within an urban setting; such may include

natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the kn ...

s or manicured urban parkland. Greenways are linear open space reserves, linear corridors that span interconnected open space reserves, or linear chains of connected open space reserves. A

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

is a general area of open space surrounding an urban area.

Green infrastructure Green infrastructure or blue-green infrastructure refers to a network that provides the “ingredients” for solving urban and climatic challenges by building with nature.Hiltrud Pötz & Pierre Bleuze (2011). Urban green-blue grids for sustainab ...

is the total mass and viability of undeveloped, natural, and agricultural land and waterways, protected or not protected, within a particular community or region.

Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s and

wildlife refuge A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s are areas of open space set aside for the sake of protecting non-human species.

National park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

s, and municipal parks, recreation areas, and reservations are types of open space reserves managed by government agencies for the primary purpose of passive or active human enjoyment. National forests,

state forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory. Background The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example: * In Australia, a ...

s, and municipal forests are types of open space reserves set aside for the primary purpose of forest conservation.

Flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

projects and protected ecological research areas may also be considered open space reserves secondary to their primary purpose. There is growing evidence that open space is unequally distributed based on race and class, particularly in the US state of California, leading to concerns regarding Open Space Accessibility in California and other areas.

Examples

Arastradero Preserve Arastradero Preserve, officially known as Enid W. Pearson–Arastradero Preserve, is a nature preserve that protects most of the Arastradero Creek watershed, including its ephemeral Mayfly Creek tributary. It also includes the upper reach of th ...

near Palo Alto, California, USA * Grove of Old Trees near Occidental, California, USA *

Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve The Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve is a large open space nature preserve owned and operated by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy spanning nearly in the Simi Hills of western Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County. Or ...

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States. Geography The Simi Hills are aligned east-west and run for , and average arou ...

, California, USA.

References

Open Space 101
Landscope America. Retrieved December 30, 2008.

USDA Forest Service. Retrieved December 30, 2008.

(2008). Half Moon Bay Municipal Code. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
Definition of Open Space
Town of Shelburne, Vermont. Retrieved December 30, 2008.

Arizona State legislature. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
Open Space Land Application Schedule: "Line 5: The statutory definition of Open Space is as follows. . ."
Maine.gov. Retrieved December 29, 2008. {{Natural resources Protected areas Regional parks Urban studies and planning terminology Zoning

Examples

See also

References