MC 00214 Guide to the Charles E. Little Papers, 1975-1990

Creator

Little, Charles E.

Quantity

8.0 Linear feet

General Physical Description note

18 archival boxes

Location

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff .

Language

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Gift of Charles E. Little through George F. Thompson, editor for Johns Hopkins University Press: February 28, 1991.

Acquisitions Information

Gift of Charles E. Little through George F. Thompson, editor for Johns Hopkins University Press: February 28, 1991.

Processing

Processed by: Jane V. Charles; machine-readable finding aid created by: Nancy J. Kaiser and Katherine M. Wisser

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of reference materials that Little compiled and used to write his book, Greenways for America (1990), which the Conservation Fund of Washington D.C. commissioned him to write in 1988. Greenways for America represents the first comprehensive compilation of information pertaining to greenways, a result of Little's extensive surveying of national greenways (both on-site and via mail), and countless interviews with individuals whose efforts have made these greenway projects come to fruition. Little defines greenways as (1.) linear open spaces established along natural corridors, such as riverfronts, stream valleys, ridgelines and railroad right-of-ways converted to scenic roads, recreational use, or canals, (2.) natural or landscaped trails for pedestrian or bicycle passage, (3.) open-space connectors that link parks, cultural features, nature reserves, or historic sites with each another and populated areas, and (4.) local strips and linear parks designated as parkways or greenbelts (parkway, a term that Frederick Law Olmsted probably coined, and greenbelt, a British term, are frequently used interchangeably with the term greenway in the United states. According to Little, Edmond Bacon, a landscape designer, likely coined the term greenway, as discussed in William H. Whyte's Securing Open Space for Urban America ( 1959).

In Greenways for America Little traces the history of the greenway movement both here and abroad. He attributes the present American greenway movement to Olmsted, who designed the grounds for the University of California's Berkley Campus in 1865, as well as the parkways, or green, linear corridors, which Olmsted envisioned cutting through Prospect Park in Brooklyn, N. Y. in 1866. Olmsted oversaw several other projects that resulted in preserved strips of parkland for pathways and scenic drives, including the famous "Emerald Necklace" of Boston, a parkway of open space proposed in 1887. According to Little, the concept and construction of modern greenways took shape in the 1960s in the name of open-space action. The national movement to convert abandoned rails to trails also began in the 1960s. Although efforts to secure open, green spaces declined in the 1970s and early 1980s, the greenway movement experienced a boon in the mid 1980s when a lack of federal funds forced concerned citizens to take matters into their own hands. As a result, proactive Americans have established scores of diverse greenways across the land. In two major chapters Little profiles a number of these greenway projects, and describes the efforts of several people who have created and preserved greenways throughout the United States. Many citizens tout these greenways as sorely needed networks of green that provide exercise, recreation, preservation of natural corridors for wildlife migration, protection of scenic and historic routes from commercial development, economic prosperity and growth, and an improved environment. Little subsequently devotes five chapters to the basic types of greenways: riverfronts and urban river greenways, paths and trails, ecological corridors, scenic drives and historic routes, and greenway network programs. According to Little, the idea of linking greenways together, thus creating a nationwide system of greenways, has become at present an integral component of the movement. Linkage, Little notes, is an important concept to greenway advocates because of its potential to take local grass-roots efforts to a higher level. These advocates believe that the creation of trails and open spaces connecting towns, cities, and parks from one end of the country to the other will eventually build a truly cohesive community, offering both ecological and social benefits for all. Finally, in the closing chapters of his book, Little pragmatically outlines and discusses the step-by-step process of developing greenways, as well as the overarching theme of the greenways imperative: to raise environmental consciousness.

Biographical Note

Charles E. Little, a native Californian, attended Wesleyan University in 1955, and served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Although he began his career as an advertising executive in New York City, Little decided in his mid-thirties to resign from advertising to become a full-time environmental activist, author, journalist, and policy analyst. Since then he has helped pass both federal and state legislation on open space, parks, and agricultural land preservation. He has also held several research and management positions in non-profit organizations and government agencies. These include: executive director of the Open Space Institute in New York, senior associate at the Conservation Foundation in Washington D.C., and head of natural resources policy at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. In 1978, Little established and became president of the American Land Forum in order to develop policy on land conservation.

Little has written a number of books and magazine articles that have led to numerous changes in conservation policy, which include better approaches to cooperative planning for landscape areas, as well as national legislation for farmland protection. Books by Little include: Challenge of the Land ( 1968), Space for Survival: Blocking the Bulldozer in Urban America ( 1971), Green Fields Forever: the Conservation Tillage Revolution in America ( 1987), Greenways for America ( 1990), Hope for the Land ( 1992), The Dying of the Trees: the Pandemic in America's Forests ( 1995), and Discover America: the Smithsonian Book of the National Parks ( 1995). Little and W. Wendell Fletcher co-authored The American Crisis: Why U.S. Farmland is Being Lost and How citizens and Governments are Trying to Save What is Left ( 1982). Little edited Louis Bromfield at Malabar: Writings on Farming and country Life ( 1988). In addition, Little co-edited An Appalachian Tragedy: Air Pollution and Tree Death in the Highland Forest of Eastern North America (1998) with Havard Ayers and Jenny Hager. Little has contributed numerous articles about land conservation, community planning, and natural resources to the following magazines: "Smithsonian", "Garden, Business and Society Review", "Air and Space", "Country Journal", and "Wilderness", for which he contributed a whole-issue essay on the "Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem" in 1987. Little has also written pieces for the "Capital Ideas" department in "Harrowsmith", and "Conservation Commentary" in the "Journal of Soil and Water Conservation". In addition, Little has both edited and published two periodicals: "Open Space Action" and "American Land Forum", the prize-winning magazine that he founded in 1980. He also edited the John Hopkins series "American Land Classics". Little currently resides in Kensington, Maryland with his wife, Ila Dawson Little, professor of English literature.

Controlled Terms

1. Beveridge, Charles E.
2. City planning--United States
3. Conservation of natural resources--United States
4. Environmental ethics--United States
5. Environmental law--United States
6. Environmental policy--United States
7. Environmental protection--United States
8. Environmentalism--United States
9. Environmentalism--United States--History
10. Flink, Charles A.
11. Flournoy, William L., Jr.
12. Greenbelts--United States
13. Greenways--United States
14. Hay, Keith G.
15. Historic preservation--Law and legislation--United States
16. Historic sites--Conservation and restoration--United States
17. Human ecology--United States
18. Land use--Law and legislation--United States
19. Land use--United States--Planning
20. Landscape architecture
21. Landscape architecture--Conservation and restoration--United States
22. Landscape architecture--United States--History
23. Landscape design--United States--History
24. Landscape ecology--United States
25. Landscape protection--United States
26. Little, Charles E.
27. Lusk, Anne
28. National parks and reserves--United States
29. Natural areas--United States
30. Nature conservation--United States
31. Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1822-1903
32. Open spaces--United States
33. Outdoor recreation--United States
34. Parkways--United States
35. Public lands--United States--Recreational use
36. Regional planning--Citizen participation--Law and legislation--United States
37. Reichenbach, Kristina
38. Rivers--Law and legislation--United States--Recreational use
39. Schuyler, David
40. Stream conservation--Law and legislation--United States
41. Thomas, Darlene K.
42. Thompson, George F.
43. Urban beautification--United States
44. Urban ecology (Sociology)--United States
45. Wildlife conservation--United States
46. Zoning--United States

Related Material

American Land Forum Records (MC 00271)

The NCSU Libraries' Greenways Archive

Videocassettes

Access to Collection

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Fax

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Charles E. Little Collection, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Access to Collection

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