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Executive Summary <br />Just as growing communities need to upgrade and <br />expand their built infrastructure of roads, sewers, and <br />utilities, they also need to upgrade and expand their <br />green infrastructure, the interconnected system of <br />green spaces that conserves natural ecosystem values <br />and functions, sustains clear air and water, and <br />provides a wide array of benefits to people and <br />wildlife. Green infrastructure is a community's natural <br />life support system, the ecological framework needed <br />for environmental and economic sustainability.' <br />In their role as green infrastructure, parks and open <br />space are a community necessity. By planning and <br />managing urban parks as parts of an interconnected <br />green space system, cities can reduce flood control <br />and stormwater management costs. Parks can also <br />protect biological diversity and preserve essential <br />ecological functions while serving as a place for <br />recreation and civic engagement.They can even help <br />shape urban form and reduce opposition to <br />development, especially when planned in concert <br />with other open spaces. <br />