Green belt: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

For other uses of the word Greenbelt, see Greenbelt (disambiguation).

A green belt or greenbelt is an area of largely undeveloped wild or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring an urban area. A similar concept is the greenway which has a linear character and may run through the urban area instead of around it. The more general term in the U.S. is green space or greenspace, which may be a very small area such as a park.

In some countries, development in green belt areas is heavily restricted. Aims include:

• protecting the natural environment;
• improving air quality in urban areas;
• ensuring that urban dwellers have easy access to the countryside, with consequent educational and recreational opportunities; and
• protecting the unique character of rural communities which might otherwise be absorbed by expanding suburbs.

Sometimes, development jumps over the restricted greenbelt area, resulting in the creation of "satellite towns" which, although separated from the city by green space, function more like suburbs than independent communities.

The protection of green belts was pioneered in the United Kingdom, where there are fourteen green belt areas, covering 16,774 km², or 13% of England; for a detailed discussion of these, see Green Belt (UK). Another notable example is the Ottawa Greenbelt in Canada.

See also: Open space