Origins and Intent

The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission (County Planning) developed both the Cuyahoga County Greenspace Plan and Greenprint in 2002. At the time, even as the most urbanized county in Ohio, Cuyahoga County was fortunate to have a significant inventory of open space. However, in many areas its use was limited by fragmented ownership or degraded by mismanagement or poor planning, remaining inaccessible to the general public. County leadership recognized the value of this remaining open space: the long-term benefits that parks, trails, and recreation amenities contribute to environmental protection; how these green space areas could improve quality of life; how redevelopment opportunities could be enhanced.

The 2002 Greenprint functioned as a web-based inventory of maps. County Planning mapped and highlighted the locations of parks, greenspace corridors, waterways, roadways and trails; and included community centers, activity centers, and town centers. It identified priority areas for protection, restoration, trail development, and other “green” improvements. Available through the County Planning Commission website, the Greenprint remained a static map featuring 2002 data, and its applicability was limited as a downloadable .pdf file.

The Greenprint Tools – 2015 Edition & 2020 Update

Advances in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology have allowed County Planning to repurpose the 2015 Greenprint as a “live” document, a fully-interactive mapping tool that can be readily updated to reflect current conditions in our built and natural environments. The Greenprint now exists across several platforms and can reach a larger audience of users.

These Web pages contain the interactive Viewer, the Technical Guide, and the Greenprint Guidebook, available as individual chapters on the Greenprint landing page under the “Project Pages” section.

Each of the chapters in the Greenprint Guide Book provides a descriptive overview of a natural feature, the rationale for the importance and value of this natural asset in our community, and recommended land use practices for communities and land owners. Each chapter ends with links to a wide range of valuable resources and additional information on the chapter topic.