Green Belt - Notable Green Belts

Notable Green Belts

Australia

• Adelaide's Central Business District is completely encircled by the Adelaide Parklands, as was initially planned in 1837.
• The Nillumbik Shire Council which is located approximately 30 km (19 miles) north-east of Melbourne is considered as "The Green Wedge Shire" because of the agreement with the Victorian Government which prevents high-density infrastructure to be built.

Brazil

• The São Paulo City Green Belt Biosphere Reserve - GBBR, an integral part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve, was created in 1994 stemming from a people's movement that collected 150 thousand signatures. It extends throughout 73 municipalities including São Paulo metro and the Santos area. With approximately 17,000 km², it is inhabited by about 23 million people, corresponding to more than 10% of the country's total population in an area equivalent to 2 thousandth of the Brazilian territory. There are over 6,000 km² of forests and other Atlantic Forest ecosystems at the Reserve, one of the planet's most threatened biomes. In addition to a spectacular biological diversity, the GBBR's ecosystems render valuable ecosystem Services.

Canada

• Ottawa Greenbelt - Surrounds the Capital city of Ottawa
• Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe), is a 7300 km² band of land that encompasses the rural and agricultural land surrounding the Greater Toronto Area and Niagara Peninsula, and parts of the Bruce Peninsula. Most of the land consists of the Oak Ridges Moraine, an environmentally sensitive land that is a major aquifer for the region, and the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In an effort to restrain urban sprawl that has encroched on these lands, the Ontario government created the Greenbelt Act in February 2005 to protect this greenspace from all future development, with the exception of limited agricultural use.
• British Columbia - the Agricultural Land Reserve protects agricultural land throughout this mountainous province from urban development, including around Vancouver. This protection is strict and urban development of agricultural land is only allowed if no reasonable alternative exists. However, it does not protect non-agricultural land, particularly hillsides, leading to substantial, and highly visible, leapfrog-type hillside sprawl.
• Quebec - The Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Quebec asserts its mission, namely to keep a territory (the agricultural zones) that is favorable for the practice and the development of agricultural activities. In so doing, the commission safeguards the agricultural territory and helps make its protection a local priority. The agricultural zones cover an area of 63 000 square kilometres in 952 local municipalities.

Dominican Republic

• The Greater Santo Domingo has a Greenbelt (Santo Domingo Greenbelt) project surrounding the whole D.N. It is composed of the National botanical Garden, Mirador Del Norte, Mirador del Este, and other parks surrounding the area from its outer municipios. It has largely been affected by uncontrolled urbanization, but other parts remain unaffected.

Mainland Europe

• European Green Belt
• Banjica Forest, Belgrade
• Stockholm Eco park
• German Green Belt
• Coulée verte du sud parisien
• Coulée verte du nord parisien
• Promenade plantée
• Vienna Woods, Austria

New Zealand

• Dunedin's Town Belt is one of the world's oldest green belts, having been planned at the time of the city's rapid growth during the Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s. It surrounds the city centre on three sides (the fourth side being the city's harbour).

Pakistan

• Islamabad, often called the "green city," is known for its green belts found on most roadsides which are often decorated and filled with various flora.

Philippines

• Makati City's green belt is very green yet full of malls and modern structures.

Thailand

• Bangkok's Bang Krachao Green Area located inside the curve of Chao Phraya River is considered a green area with authority control over the urbanization. Today it is a popular spot for tourism and cycling. The area is located within the boarder of Bangkok Province and Samut Sakorn Province.

South Korea

• Seoul

United Kingdom

• The Metropolitan Green Belt (5,133 km²)
• The North West Green Belt (2,578 km²)
• South and West Yorkshire Green Belt (2,556 km²)
• West Midlands Green Belt (2,315 km²)

United States

• The U.S. states of Oregon, Washington and Tennessee require cities to establish urban growth boundaries (UGBs).
• Notable US cities which have adopted UGBs include Portland, Oregon; Twin Cities, Minnesota; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Lexington, Kentucky; Miami-Dade county.
• More than 20 cities in the San Francisco Bay Area have UGBs (see Greenbelt Alliance, a Bay Area organization that has been involved in establishing these boundaries).
• Staten Island Greenbelt
• Barton Creek Greenbelt, Austin
• Ann Arbor, Michigan is acquiring conservation easements on agricultural land around the city without the establishment of an urban growth boundary. While the city's initial plan did not include the participation of surrounding townships, at least four townships have participated directly or have initiated their own efforts to protect agricultural land surrounding the city.
• Boise Greenbelt, Boise, Idaho
• "The Jungle", Seattle
• Boston's Emerald Necklace is halfway between a green belt and a greenway, nearly ringing central Boston. The final link in the chain, the Dorchesterway, was never constructed.