Greenspace After a Disaster: The Need to Close the Gap With Recovery for Greater Resilience

Parks and greenspace planning have often been limited to environmental planning; however, these spaces’ ecological benefits may also protect communities from hazards and their negative outcomes, thereby increasing resiliency. Although hazard planning has begun to consider nature-based mitigation solutions, the postdisaster recovery planning of these greenspaces is rare. This can result in a loss of function, a delay in the return to normality, and lost opportunity for increasing park, greenspace, and community resilience. Here I discuss the nature of green infrastructure after a disaster, using examples from both literature and recent North American hurricanes, to suggest the need to add parks and greenspaces to recovery and resilience planning.