Open space protects our health and welfare. Green space is essential for recharging our aquifers, preventing pollution of surface and ground waters, filtering sediments, limiting air pollution, and maintaining wildlife habitat and other natural systems whose benefits to health and medicine are just beginning to be understood. Open space preserves our heritage. When we maintain open land, we sustain the magnificent forests, prairies, mountains, deserts, rivers, lakes, beaches, farmland and community commons that have uniquely shaped the character of our country and its people. Open space makes economic sense.
Open space is good for business.
Study after study shows that communities with protected open space enjoy greater economic vitality than communities that fail to provide the productive resource lands, parks, and natural places that make possible economic activity in such industries as agriculture, forestry, and tourism. Open space helps state and local governments work efficiently. When agricultural land near a city is developed, government must pay for more than the substantial initial costs of roads, sewers, schools and other infrastructure. The long-term demands of sprawling development on government resources can be exceedingly costly. For example, new roads and longer commutes degrade water, air and habitat quality, which the government must restore at great expense.