raleigh, north carolina

Biophilic Cities Partner City Since 2022

Nestled in central North Carolina where the sandy coastal plains meet the rolling hills of the Piedmont, the City of Raleigh, the Capital City of North Carolina, is a 21st Century City of Innovation focusing on environmental, cultural, economic, and equitable sustainability and resiliency. As one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, Raleigh commits to conserving and protecting its environmental resources through best practices in cutting-edge conservation and stewardship, land use, infrastructure, and building technologies.

Raleigh has always carefully considered the values of air, water, and open space for its residents. The original master plan for Raleigh prepared in 1792 by State Senator and surveyor William Christmas integrated open space into the community’s design incorporating five (5) public squares, two (2) of which remain as public green spaces 229 years later.

Raleigh’s historic commitment to preserving and providing green spaces for its residents has resulted in a parks system consisting of 6,209 acres of parkland and 118 miles of trails interconnected through 3,832 acres of greenways, and lands conserved for flood control and ecological purposes. The City of Raleigh remains committed to encouraging a diverse, vibrant built environment that preserves and protects the community’s natural resources, strives for environmental equity and justice, and encourages sustainable growth that complements existing development.

Partner Contacts:
Brian Smith, Natural Resources Superintendent
Megan Anderson, Office of Sustainability
Wayne Miles, Engineering Services - Stormwater

local spotlights

Street Tree Equity Project: project to address the urban forest and reduce environmental inequities across the City of Raleigh. Planting locations are also informed by the Urban Heat Island Mapping project completed in 2022.

Advancing Use of Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Bringing more green, eco-friendly features to Raleigh that help protect waterways.

Community Gardens: City program to support creation of gardens used for growing and harvesting food crops and ornamental crops for consumption, donation, or sale.

Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP) includes strategies to conserve and support natural and green spaces that provide various environmental, health, and social benefits that include increasing climate resilience, flood mitigation, addressing equity, and reducing urban heat islands.

Through a Bee City USA certification, the City of Raleigh coordinates with community-based organizations to preserve and protect pollinator habitats and educate the public on the importance of pollinators to our urban ecosystem.

The innovative Rainwater Rewards program provides an incentive for residents and businesses to remove impervious surfaces and install green stormwater technology on private property to improve water quality.

Environmental Awards and Drinking Watershed Protection Awards recognize the efforts of residents, businesses, and organizations to incorporate environmental aspects into the design of their facilities and to protect natural spaces.

The City of Raleigh works thorough its Strategic Plan and as a partner in the Wake County Food Security plan to promote and expand food security, community gardening and advance urban agriculture in the city. Staff are working to remove barriers and expand available resources to residents to establish community gardens and urban farms.

In 2021, the City of Raleigh Office of Sustainability and Engineering Services Department: Stormwater Division began to work with Partners for Environmental Justice on the Raleigh Watershed Learning Network, a program to engage and inform residents about watershed management, community advocacy, and environmental justice.

The City of Raleigh partnered with regional partners throughout Raleigh and Durham and the State of North Carolina to gather data through a partnership with NOAA to map urban heat islands. Using this data, the City will develop mitigation plans, including tree-planting, cool roadways and other mechanisms to address urban heat.

The City of Raleigh’s Strategic Plan for 2021-2025 identifies objectives and initiatives throughout the plan to address environmental justice, green space and resource protection and conservation, resilience, stream restoration, climate action and more.

In response to the significant growth in the Raleigh area, the City of Raleigh established a Watershed Protection Program in 2005 to protect the drinking water supply watersheds of Falls Lake and Lake Benson. This program was designed to preserve and restore ecologically critical areas throughout the designated watersheds through land conservation and innovative stormwater management practices. To date, the Watershed Protection Program has helped preserve 121 parcels, which represents 10,821 acres and 121 miles of streams protected in perpetuity.

In March 2021, the Mayor of Raleigh signed the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. The City of Raleigh will continue to expand habitat on park lands for monarch butterflies (and other pollinators) and educate residents through its environmental education program.