More than two million acres of U.S. land is developed each year. In the past, such rapid rates of expansion have come at a cost to nature, agriculture, and open spaces. But not all land development has to be at odds with the tenets of environmental and social sustainability. In fact, leaders such as Wade Shealy of The Jekyll Island Company are implementing a new approach to development dubbed “green infrastructure”. Green infrastructure can be defined as “an interconnected network of natural areas and other open spaces that conserves natural ecosystem values and functions, sustains clean air and water, and provides a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife.”*In practice, green infrastructure can be achieved by connecting hubs of development to other hubs via trails and walkways while preserving surrounding natural areas. Shealy’s developments exemplify the ideals of green infrastructure in nearly every way imaginable.

Hampton Island, Georgia, envisioned and created by Shealy, is a superb example of the fusion of environmental preservation and land development with components such as permanent conservation easements, pedestrian-friendly hardscapes, and the use of recycled materials. Shealy’s low impact developments and environmentally responsible buildings afford residents and visitors opportunities to live, work, and shop in areas successfully integrated into the surrounding landscape, and not the other way around. 

Shealy’s efforts are not restricted to his own developments. In fact, he views land conservation holistically and seeks to educate landowners and developers across the nation on the need to promote green infrastructure and conservation on a wide-scale basis. Through his work, Shealy hopes to preserve networks of green space for the enjoyment of future generations to come.

* Benedict, Mark A. and Edward T. McMahon. Green Infrastructure:  Linking Landscapes and Communities. Island Press, 2006.