Urban communities are increasingly shaping the conservation future of the South Atlantic. Major metropolitan areas present both direct threats, such as loss habitat and open space, and indirect threats, such as creating barriers to connectivity. As a result of both these direct and indirect threats, and their scale, metropolitan areas pose a challenge when thinking about corridors and connectivity, and many of the traditional approaches to green infrastructure and conservation are not adequate for urban areas.
The Conservation Blueprint (Blueprint) is cross-boundary, cross-organization plan that prioritizes areas for shared conservation action in the South Atlantic. It is designed as a resource for conservation action and investment, which identifies areas for shared action at the ecosystem level. Unfortunately, the quality of current models near and within cities is major barrier for Blueprint users working for and with local governments. Improving these models has been identified as a high priority for Blueprint 2.0 workshop participants, Blueprint users working near and within cities, and the Conservation Design Team.
The South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (South Atlantic LCC) will engage the American Planning Association (APA) Green Communities Research Center in a scoping project that will examine how large scale green infrastructure definitions and urban scale definitions can be bridged in order to address this challenge and identify areas of shared conservation interest across the rural – urban continuum.
