From the Vault: The Value of Open Space By Abby Stocking
People often assign value to land based on what can be built on it, but there are so many other types of value to be derived from green spaces--ecological, health, recreational, and aesthetic. If we only define the land’s value based on economics, we risk missing out on the dividends to be received by these other measures. Vernon J. Walker was the first Nature Center Director. He was a driving force of environmental preservation in Reston from 1964-1982. He diligently worked to protect natural open spaces where humans, wildlife and plants could co-exist. Why were these open spaces so important to Walker, and why should they continue to be important to us? We’re diving into the archives so you can hear from him in his own words. This excerpt is taken from a memo he wrote in 1970. With its 1,300 acres of open space, Reston continues to be a unique place to live, work and play. In 2018, Reston joined the prestigious Biophilic Cities network. One can imagine that if Walker were with us today, he would find many synchronicities with this modern trend of designing and protecting urban environments that connect people with green spaces. If we want to continue to enjoy the “vastly different character” of this community, we must continue to assign value to our open spaces and be good stewards of nature for future generations.
Take the Biophilic Pledge at https://bit.ly/RestonBiophilicPledge.
XIMITY TO THE VALUE OF OPEN SPACE IN CLOSE PRO DWELLING UNITS By Vernon J. Walker, Director
aps difficult to justify in I wish to make two points which are perh easy to justify, in my very terms of short-term economic gains, but life for those people of ity opinion, in terms of the effect on the qual long-range economic the of s who are and will be involved and in term wooded area too steep a is e valu gains for the total community. Of what e together with a spac open or too low to build on? By preserving such 1 g flora, we ortin supp its non-consumptive wildlife population and le living peop e thos of lives immediately add a new dimension to the is an area This by. ing pass le nearby, or even to the lives of those peop old. and g youn of t men enjoy permanently set aside for the use and ort a wide variety Even a 20-foot wooded buffer strip can supp al buffer and an visu a as of non-consumptive wildlife and serve ts’ ability to plan n absorber of noise, not to mention the gree absorb pollutants! areas, then, creates a Green space in close proximity to living r. It changes the lifestyle. It community of a vastly different characte , to respect the land. This tends to make people feel close to the land h the initial investment wort kind of total environment is, I submit, g environment increases. livin and will grow in value as emphasis on the Written by Vern Walker ded without being killed, such 1. Wildlife that is watched, studied or recor photographing for recreation, or hing sketc ng, atchi as while hiking, birdw education or research.
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