An ecological framework for the planning, design and management of urban river greenways

Major approaches to ecological design were reviewed and compared. Naturalistic, ecosystem science, and landscape ecology approaches were applied to the development of an ecological framework for the planning, design and management of urban river greenways. The framework also incorporated ecological knowledge related to the planning and design process, design and management of natural areas, and theory and methodology from landscape ecology. It provides a systematic procedure for facilitating the protection, ecological enhancement, and linkage of present and potential natural areas in urban river greenways. One component of the framework, the assessment, has been described in detail and applied to the South Saskatchewan River Valley in Saskatoon, Canada. The framework is not case-specific and its main value is to provide an integrated approach to the ecological planning, design, and management of urban river greenways.