Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 10/09/2014

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through investments such as regional wastewater services, regional highways, transit service, the Regional Parks System, and programs that support redevelopment. Some of the region's most popular regional parks are located in the Metropolitan Urban Service Area, including Como Regional Park, Zoo and Conservatory; Minnehaha Regional Park; and Hyland- Bush - Anderson Lakes Park Reserve. Trails including the Bruce Vento and North Cedar Lake Regional Trails; connect people to regional parks and local amenities. The Metropolitan Urban Service Area is divided into five community designations: • Urban Center • Urban • Suburban • Suburban Edge • Emerging Suburban Edge Thrive forecasts project that over the next 30 years growth and redevelopment will occur throughout the region. Not only will growth occur in the suburban communities; the urban communities will continue to redevelop. Forces driving this change are our aging population, new residential preferences among younger households, and increasing interest in sustainable lifestyles. Demographic changes, emerging preferences, and shifting development patterns will increase our need to expand multimodal access to our regional parks, regional trails and transit system. Rural Service Area About half of the land in the Twin Cities region is located in the Rural Service Area. This area includes a range of land uses, including cultivated farmland, vineyards, hobby farms, gravel mines, woodlands, small towns, scattered and clustered housing, open spaces, and significant expanses of the region's natural resources. Aside from the Regional Parks System, investments in regional service and infrastructure are limited in the Rural Service Area. The Rural Service Area is divided into four community designations: • Rural Center • Rural Residential • Diversified Rural • Agricultural The Rural Service Area contains some of the Regional Parks System's large park reserves, including Crow Hassan and Big Marine Park Reserves. In addition to providing passive recreation opportunities, the park reserves also preserve, maintain, and connect high quality or regionally important natural resources.