Greenfields in the Great Lakes Basin Facts About Greenfields Greenfields include agricultural lands, metropolitan parks, greenways, ecological corridors in metro areas and other places that help delineate one village, city or town from another or where development is occuring and where it is not. When they are protected, greenfields can serve to promote growth in already developed areas and curb urban sprawl. As parks and greenways, they also provide the green infrastructure essential to livable communities.
Agriculture is a leading industry in every Great Lakes state and province.
Agricultural Lands Other Open Spaces National Resources Inventory . This statistically based survey documents trends in non-federal land uses across the nation. Results indicate that Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania rank among the top ten states in the conversion of agricultural land and open space for development . Agricultural Lands New Initiatives in Farmland Preservation . This July 1999 article highlights new figures on farmland conversion rates in the Great Lakes region and state efforts to protect agricultural lands.