ABSTRACT
An examination of the connections between green infrastructure (GI) and health would of course be incomplete without also examining some of the threats GI poses to health and well-being. The many forms of GI cannot be naively viewed as utopian oases that are free from risk. Focusing solely on the benefits of GI would be ignoring the necessary balance struck between life and death and the sometimes cruel and unpredictable ways that nature maintains this balance. GI at scales ranging from the neighborhood park to the national reserves should not be naively viewed as utopian oases free from threats to health and safety. The natural environment can pose risks, but these risks can be greatly reduced by ecologically sensitive GI design that supports healthy ecosystems. Some risks are reduced by people changing their behavior and through being reintroduced to the rules of the natural environment. Green infrastructure is not an amenity where risks can be removed by eliminating it.
