Urban greenways: a systematic review and typology

Greenways are multifunctional linear landscapes that provide a range of socio-ecologicalbenefits. As a domain of landscape planning research, greenways gained traction in the late 20thcentury and today, there is substantial interest in greenway planning and design. This is especiallytrue in urban areas, as noted at the sixth Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning. Yet,cities encompass biophysical flows, sociopolitical relationships, and formal structures that are distinctfrom non-urban areas and urban greenways may reflect an evolving type of landscape planningand design that is related to but distinct from greenways writ large. To the best of our knowledge,there has been no previous review of scholarship on greenways in an urban context. We address theaforementioned gaps by reporting on a systematic assessment of peer-reviewed literature. The reviewencompasses 52 refereed articles using the term “urban greenway” or “urban greenways” in thetitle, abstract, or keywords drawn from three prominent academic databases. Our analysis coversseven research categories, and this undergirds a typology and definition of urban greenways. In sodoing, we seek to illuminate typical traits of urban greenways to inform future landscape planningscholarship and practice