For municipalities facing pressure to maximize infrastructure investments, provide lifestyle amenities, and support sustainability, Greensboro offers a compelling case study in what happens when these goals are pursued simultaneously.
“The stream [portion of the greenway] was a glorified ditch with invasive species and not a scenic or pleasing stream to be around. We were able to restore the stream, making it lush. Today, it has flowering native species and adds color along the greenway and views for pedestrians.”—David Hursey, Project Engineer, Kimley-Horn
For decades, greenways were viewed primarily as recreational amenities—a nice addition to a park system, a place to bike or take a weekend stroll. Today, however, cities are asking more of their public spaces: They want infrastructure that manages stormwater, supports climate resilience, encourages economic development, and helps residents move through their communities without relying exclusively on cars.
In Greensboro, N.C., a 25-year effort to build a four-mile downtown greenway demonstrates what that evolution can look like.
The recently completed $54 million Downtown Greenway project is a trail loop surrounding downtown, which also functions as a distributed stormwater management system, a transportation corridor, an ecological restoration project, and a public gathering space.
Along the route, more than 175 bioswales, rain gardens, and green infrastructure features help filter runoff, reduce flooding impacts, improve water quality, and reconnect residents with parts of the city they may never have visited otherwise.
The Downtown Greenway demonstrates how visible infrastructure can support both environmental performance and community engagement. This may be the Greenway's most valuable lesson: The most successful infrastructure is often the infrastructure people don't realize they're using. Credit: Ted Patrick
From Drainage Infrastructure to Destination
According to David Hursey, Project Engineer with design/engineering consulting firm Kimley-Horn, one of the most significant opportunities involved in the just-completed greenway was rethinking how water could be moved through the site.
“Half of downtown Greensboro drains through this project,” Hursey points out. “There’s urban runoff and fast flash flooding potential. A lot of the project was handling upstream slope coming through the project. We sized the project for future development and designed a stream corridor for water to spread out to reduce velocity and reactivate in the stream’s floodplain.”
Historically, portions of the corridor functioned as little more than engineered drainage conveyances. In some areas, streams had been constrained, piped, or heavily modified.
Much of the Downtown Greenway corridor wasn't pristine open space waiting to be transformed. Portions followed former railroad alignments, drainage channels, and heavily developed urban areas that had long served practical purposes but offered little value as public space. Credit: City of Greensboro
“The stream [portion of the greenway] was a glorified ditch with invasive species and not a scenic or pleasing stream to be around,” Hursey describes. “We were able to restore the stream, making it lush. Today, it has flowering native species and adds color along the greenway and views for pedestrians.”
The Downtown Greenway unfolded in four phases over two decades, with each section presenting different engineering and property challenges. Easements, right-of-way acquisition, utility conflicts, soil conditions, and aging infrastructure all had to be addressed before construction could begin.
“The stream [portion of the greenway] was a glorified ditch with invasive species and not a scenic or pleasing stream to be around. We were able to restore the stream, making it lush. Today, it has flowering native species and adds color along the greenway and views for pedestrians.”—David Hursey, Project Engineer, Kimley-Horn
The resulting greenway serves both environmental and human purposes. Stormwater performs better, while the experience of walking or cycling through the corridor becomes significantly more appealing.
In addition, stream restoration projects can offer economic advantages, Hursey points out. Unlike heavily engineered underground systems that require significant quantities of concrete, pipe, and imported materials, restoration work often relies on strategic earthmoving and natural materials already available on site.
Making Sustainability Visible
Cities frequently produce exhaustive comprehensive plans, resilience strategies, biodiversity initiatives, and transportation goals. The challenge often lies in helping residents see how these ideas connect to daily life.
For Shree Dorestant, Greensboro's Chief Sustainability Officer, one of the Downtown Greenway project's greatest strengths is its ability to make sustainability tangible: "What I said from the beginning is this work has to be visible. It's one thing to have myriad plans—amazing plans—but the Downtown Greenway serves everyone from all walks of life. We need to put those pieces together and see all the parts working at once."
That philosophy is visible throughout the corridor.
"This work has to be visible. It's one thing to have myriad plans—amazing plans—but the Greensboro Downtown Greenway serves everyone from all walks of life. We need to put those pieces together and see all the parts working at once."—Shree Dorestant, Chief Sustainability Officer, Greensboro
Native pollinator plantings support Greensboro's biodiversity initiatives and Monarch butterfly conservation commitments. Solar-powered lighting advances energy goals while improving safety and accessibility. Stream restoration, bioswales, and bioretention features support water quality objectives. Public art, landscaping, and connections to existing parks help strengthen community identity.
Instead of treating sustainability goals as separate initiatives managed by different departments, the Downtown Greenway creates a physical place where multiple city priorities converge. For residents, that means a trail. For city leaders, it represents a platform for delivering resilience, mobility, environmental stewardship, and economic development simultaneously.
The Maintenance Reality
As attractive as green infrastructure can be, successful projects require a clear-eyed understanding of long-term operations, points out David Phlegar, Stormwater Manager with Greensboro's Water Resources Department. Bioswales, plantings, treatment media, and landscaped stormwater systems must be maintained over time if they are expected to continue performing as designed.
"The primary purpose of the Downtown Greenway wasn't just drainage. It was visibility, education, and functionality,” Phlegar says. “But there are 175 bioswales on the loop, so the question isn't just how to build it; the question is who's going to maintain it. I would emphasize considering maintenance up front and not let it become an afterthought.”
The Downtown Greenway project also revealed the importance of regulatory flexibility.
"The primary purpose of the Downtown Greenway wasn't just drainage. It was visibility, education, and functionality. But there are 175 bioswales on the loop, so the question isn't just how to build it; the question is who's going to maintain it. I would emphasize considering maintenance up front and not let it become an afterthought.”—David Phlegar, Stormwater Manager, Greensboro Water Resources Department
During the project, designers placed several bioretention systems on top of water and fiber optic lines, which created conflicts with established ordinances and engineering standards. Resolving these issues required collaboration across departments and a willingness to evaluate exceptions where appropriate.
Phlegar believes cities should periodically review ordinances that may unintentionally limit innovation. "Don't let your own obstacles stand in the way," he warns.
Hursey, as well, advises municipalities interested in greenway infrastructure concepts to plan carefully. “You need to make sure you establish vegetation goals for the project. For example, you can cut down trees, and it will be pretty in 10 years, or be minimal with your tree clearing and landscape around the existing trees. Ask yourself: What does the public want to see?”
Pathway to Innovation
Like attracts like, as the saying goes, and this city’s innovative thinking brought about other creative ideas and a willingness to try new things.
“We studied and installed a gravel wetland in coordination with N.C. State,” Phlegar says. “There are only a handful of these in the state. They look like bioretention but with a gravel layer instead of soil, and it gets anaerobic underneath.”
This pilot project has trial bioswale sites with mulch media and plants as well as those with sod so the area can be mowed.
Sculptures, wayfinding signs, playscapes, and street art encourage community engagement and connectivity throughout the city. Credit: Ted Patrick
Dorestant also believes the Downtown Greenway is an example of how innovation often emerges from collaboration, and, from her perspective, it goes back to the city’s dedication to having a comprehensive view of the city’s future.
"Projects like this are never really finished,” Dorestant says. “People call New York the city that never sleeps, but this project was more like a disco—it just kept going. New partners, new ideas, new opportunities. It required collaboration across nonprofits, city departments, and community organizations. It was like looking through a kaleidoscope, taking in all these different viewpoints and then figuring out how to put the pieces together."
A Model for the Next Generation of Greenways
The Greensboro Downtown Greenway arrives at a moment when other cities are also increasingly searching for projects that can accomplish multiple goals simultaneously, such as flood mitigation/climate resilience, safer pedestrian and bicycle routes, and infrastructure investments that generate visible public value. Greensboro's experience suggests these objectives do not need to be pursued separately.
“Residents want to see more,” Dorestant says. “We have demonstrated multiple things here: urban infill, environmental justice, stormwater management. This is one visual point. City planning came together to achieve this, and this is how we will lead in the future.”
The Downtown Greenway combines recreation, stormwater management, and ecological restoration within a four-mile loop surrounding Greensboro's urban core. Credit: City of Greensboro
More than 175 green infrastructure features are integrated into the Downtown Greenway, creating a distributed network for stormwater treatment. Native plantings and bioswales throughout the corridor help filter runoff while creating a more engaging experience for pedestrians and cyclists. Credit: City of Greensboro
Stream restoration transformed formerly degraded drainage areas into functional landscapes that improve water quality and reduce flooding impacts. Credit: City of Greensboro
Twenty-five years in the making, the Greensboro Downtown Greenway serves as a sophisticated model for cities seeking to integrate resilience, mobility, and public space into a single investment. Credit: Peter Vahan
Cati O’Keefe is the editorial director of Green Builder Media. She has 25 years of experience reporting and writing on all aspects of residential housing, building and energy codes, green building, and sustainability.
The Case for Visible Infrastructure
For municipalities facing pressure to maximize infrastructure investments, provide lifestyle amenities, and support sustainability, Greensboro offers a compelling case study in what happens when these goals are pursued simultaneously.
“The stream [portion of the greenway] was a glorified ditch with invasive species and not a scenic or pleasing stream to be around. We were able to restore the stream, making it lush. Today, it has flowering native species and adds color along the greenway and views for pedestrians.”—David Hursey, Project Engineer, Kimley-Horn
For decades, greenways were viewed primarily as recreational amenities—a nice addition to a park system, a place to bike or take a weekend stroll. Today, however, cities are asking more of their public spaces: They want infrastructure that manages stormwater, supports climate resilience, encourages economic development, and helps residents move through their communities without relying exclusively on cars.
In Greensboro, N.C., a 25-year effort to build a four-mile downtown greenway demonstrates what that evolution can look like.
The recently completed $54 million Downtown Greenway project is a trail loop surrounding downtown, which also functions as a distributed stormwater management system, a transportation corridor, an ecological restoration project, and a public gathering space.
Along the route, more than 175 bioswales, rain gardens, and green infrastructure features help filter runoff, reduce flooding impacts, improve water quality, and reconnect residents with parts of the city they may never have visited otherwise.
The Downtown Greenway demonstrates how visible infrastructure can support both environmental performance and community engagement. This may be the Greenway's most valuable lesson: The most successful infrastructure is often the infrastructure people don't realize they're using. Credit: Ted Patrick
From Drainage Infrastructure to Destination
According to David Hursey, Project Engineer with design/engineering consulting firm Kimley-Horn, one of the most significant opportunities involved in the just-completed greenway was rethinking how water could be moved through the site.
“Half of downtown Greensboro drains through this project,” Hursey points out. “There’s urban runoff and fast flash flooding potential. A lot of the project was handling upstream slope coming through the project. We sized the project for future development and designed a stream corridor for water to spread out to reduce velocity and reactivate in the stream’s floodplain.”
Historically, portions of the corridor functioned as little more than engineered drainage conveyances. In some areas, streams had been constrained, piped, or heavily modified.
Much of the Downtown Greenway corridor wasn't pristine open space waiting to be transformed. Portions followed former railroad alignments, drainage channels, and heavily developed urban areas that had long served practical purposes but offered little value as public space. Credit: City of Greensboro
“The stream [portion of the greenway] was a glorified ditch with invasive species and not a scenic or pleasing stream to be around,” Hursey describes. “We were able to restore the stream, making it lush. Today, it has flowering native species and adds color along the greenway and views for pedestrians.”
The Downtown Greenway unfolded in four phases over two decades, with each section presenting different engineering and property challenges. Easements, right-of-way acquisition, utility conflicts, soil conditions, and aging infrastructure all had to be addressed before construction could begin.
“The stream [portion of the greenway] was a glorified ditch with invasive species and not a scenic or pleasing stream to be around. We were able to restore the stream, making it lush. Today, it has flowering native species and adds color along the greenway and views for pedestrians.”—David Hursey, Project Engineer, Kimley-Horn
The resulting greenway serves both environmental and human purposes. Stormwater performs better, while the experience of walking or cycling through the corridor becomes significantly more appealing.
In addition, stream restoration projects can offer economic advantages, Hursey points out. Unlike heavily engineered underground systems that require significant quantities of concrete, pipe, and imported materials, restoration work often relies on strategic earthmoving and natural materials already available on site.
Making Sustainability Visible
Cities frequently produce exhaustive comprehensive plans, resilience strategies, biodiversity initiatives, and transportation goals. The challenge often lies in helping residents see how these ideas connect to daily life.
For Shree Dorestant, Greensboro's Chief Sustainability Officer, one of the Downtown Greenway project's greatest strengths is its ability to make sustainability tangible: "What I said from the beginning is this work has to be visible. It's one thing to have myriad plans—amazing plans—but the Downtown Greenway serves everyone from all walks of life. We need to put those pieces together and see all the parts working at once."
That philosophy is visible throughout the corridor.
"This work has to be visible. It's one thing to have myriad plans—amazing plans—but the Greensboro Downtown Greenway serves everyone from all walks of life. We need to put those pieces together and see all the parts working at once."—Shree Dorestant, Chief Sustainability Officer, Greensboro
Native pollinator plantings support Greensboro's biodiversity initiatives and Monarch butterfly conservation commitments. Solar-powered lighting advances energy goals while improving safety and accessibility. Stream restoration, bioswales, and bioretention features support water quality objectives. Public art, landscaping, and connections to existing parks help strengthen community identity.
Instead of treating sustainability goals as separate initiatives managed by different departments, the Downtown Greenway creates a physical place where multiple city priorities converge. For residents, that means a trail. For city leaders, it represents a platform for delivering resilience, mobility, environmental stewardship, and economic development simultaneously.
The Maintenance Reality
As attractive as green infrastructure can be, successful projects require a clear-eyed understanding of long-term operations, points out David Phlegar, Stormwater Manager with Greensboro's Water Resources Department. Bioswales, plantings, treatment media, and landscaped stormwater systems must be maintained over time if they are expected to continue performing as designed.
"The primary purpose of the Downtown Greenway wasn't just drainage. It was visibility, education, and functionality,” Phlegar says. “But there are 175 bioswales on the loop, so the question isn't just how to build it; the question is who's going to maintain it. I would emphasize considering maintenance up front and not let it become an afterthought.”
The Downtown Greenway project also revealed the importance of regulatory flexibility.
"The primary purpose of the Downtown Greenway wasn't just drainage. It was visibility, education, and functionality. But there are 175 bioswales on the loop, so the question isn't just how to build it; the question is who's going to maintain it. I would emphasize considering maintenance up front and not let it become an afterthought.”—David Phlegar, Stormwater Manager, Greensboro Water Resources Department
During the project, designers placed several bioretention systems on top of water and fiber optic lines, which created conflicts with established ordinances and engineering standards. Resolving these issues required collaboration across departments and a willingness to evaluate exceptions where appropriate.
Phlegar believes cities should periodically review ordinances that may unintentionally limit innovation. "Don't let your own obstacles stand in the way," he warns.
Hursey, as well, advises municipalities interested in greenway infrastructure concepts to plan carefully. “You need to make sure you establish vegetation goals for the project. For example, you can cut down trees, and it will be pretty in 10 years, or be minimal with your tree clearing and landscape around the existing trees. Ask yourself: What does the public want to see?”
Pathway to Innovation
Like attracts like, as the saying goes, and this city’s innovative thinking brought about other creative ideas and a willingness to try new things.
“We studied and installed a gravel wetland in coordination with N.C. State,” Phlegar says. “There are only a handful of these in the state. They look like bioretention but with a gravel layer instead of soil, and it gets anaerobic underneath.”
This pilot project has trial bioswale sites with mulch media and plants as well as those with sod so the area can be mowed.
Sculptures, wayfinding signs, playscapes, and street art encourage community engagement and connectivity throughout the city. Credit: Ted Patrick
Dorestant also believes the Downtown Greenway is an example of how innovation often emerges from collaboration, and, from her perspective, it goes back to the city’s dedication to having a comprehensive view of the city’s future.
"Projects like this are never really finished,” Dorestant says. “People call New York the city that never sleeps, but this project was more like a disco—it just kept going. New partners, new ideas, new opportunities. It required collaboration across nonprofits, city departments, and community organizations. It was like looking through a kaleidoscope, taking in all these different viewpoints and then figuring out how to put the pieces together."
A Model for the Next Generation of Greenways
The Greensboro Downtown Greenway arrives at a moment when other cities are also increasingly searching for projects that can accomplish multiple goals simultaneously, such as flood mitigation/climate resilience, safer pedestrian and bicycle routes, and infrastructure investments that generate visible public value. Greensboro's experience suggests these objectives do not need to be pursued separately.
“Residents want to see more,” Dorestant says. “We have demonstrated multiple things here: urban infill, environmental justice, stormwater management. This is one visual point. City planning came together to achieve this, and this is how we will lead in the future.”
The Downtown Greenway combines recreation, stormwater management, and ecological restoration within a four-mile loop surrounding Greensboro's urban core. Credit: City of Greensboro
More than 175 green infrastructure features are integrated into the Downtown Greenway, creating a distributed network for stormwater treatment. Native plantings and bioswales throughout the corridor help filter runoff while creating a more engaging experience for pedestrians and cyclists. Credit: City of Greensboro
Stream restoration transformed formerly degraded drainage areas into functional landscapes that improve water quality and reduce flooding impacts. Credit: City of Greensboro
Twenty-five years in the making, the Greensboro Downtown Greenway serves as a sophisticated model for cities seeking to integrate resilience, mobility, and public space into a single investment. Credit: Peter Vahan
By Cati O'Keefe
Cati O’Keefe is the editorial director of Green Builder Media. She has 25 years of experience reporting and writing on all aspects of residential housing, building and energy codes, green building, and sustainability.