These attract and encourage wildlife even in major urban centers. They often have plentiful trees, plants, flowers, and many other natural features such as rivers.
Greenways can be just as important to wildlife as they are to people. That’s why studies show housing values increase the closer one gets to a greenway. And like employers, people want to live near greenways. Companies such as Google strongly encourage their employees to bike or walk to work, so they locate their offices in cities with greenways. Having beautiful and accessible greenways helps attract convention business and increase tourism.īut just as important, more and more new businesses are looking to locate in cities where their employees can bike and walk. And just think how the RiverWalk’s transformation of the Detroit River has helped Detroit’s image. For example, the opening of the Detroit RiverWalk has led to a new bicycle shop, cafes, as well as more major festivals. Greenways also promote economic development and create jobs. Did you know that the typical adult cyclist has a level of fitness equivalent to someone 10 years younger and a life expectancy two years above the average? Did you know that children who begin biking or walking to school at an early age are more likely to stay at a healthy weight during their school years? Using greenways are one easy way to improve the health of both adults and children. They are places where one can have a serious workout or just a romantic stroll after dinner. For some, they are a nice, clean, and safe place to play, ride a bike, walk, or run. Greenways are important for many different reasons. Many times greenways will follow a river or are built on abandoned railroad property. And the “green” in greenways has two meanings. Greenways have many trees and plants along the trail which are the color green, but greenways are also “green” because they are good for the environment. Greenways are typically long parks or natural areas that usually include a trail.