Regional Open Space Planning

This webpage highlights DVRPC's efforts related to Regional Open Space Projects.

Greenspace Network

The Greenspace Network links parkland, population centers and key natural resource areas into a unified system. Linking "green spaces" throughout the region boosts their ecological, recreational, scenic and economic value.

Protected Open Space Inventory

DVRPC maintains an inventory of protected public and private open space in the Delaware Valley. The inventory tracks all publicly-owned open space, preserved farmland, and non profit protected open space. State, county and municipal programs preserve farms by purchasing development rights with public funds. Non-profits (land trusts and conservancies) protect privately owned open space lands by purchasing easements or by acquiring land outright with a combination of public and private funds.

Local Open Space Funding Programs

In both primary and general elections, municipalities ask voters to dedicate funding or increase taxes for open space and farmland preservation.

Economic Value of Open Space

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and the GreenSpace Alliance (GSA) are partners on the project Return on Environment - The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The project demonstrates that our protected open spaces – public parks, preserved farmland and land trust owned and eased lands – provide substantial economic, environmental and public health benefits to the region's households, governments and businesses.

Municipal Open Space Planning

DVRPC offers open space and natural resource planning services to New Jersey municipalities to help them identify the current state of their natural resources, articulate their vision for the future, and develop specific planning tools to achieve that vision. All planning services are subsidized by DVRPC to reduce expenses to municipalities.

Stewardship on a Shoestring

Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania lead the nation in their commitment to preserve farmland and open space. Unfortunately, with dwindling public resources, some state, county, and municipal governments are struggling to sustainably-manage protected open space as well as other public lands, such as street medians, stormwater basins, and public school lands. On November 30, 2011, DVRPC and the Natural Lands Trust partnered to host "Stewardship on a Shoestring" - a one-day workshop that highlighted those communities and organizations that are working together to save green and manage green while "going green."