“…Increasingly, urban-rural continua of blue-green multifunctional systems are being promoted in relation to sustainable drainage, climate change, wellbeing and health, property values, employment and other issues (Gill et al, 2007;James et al, 2009;Maas et al, 2006). Latterly, there has been an awareness of the ‗rural' roles that can be performed by urban landscapes -such as affording outdoor recreation opportunities that minimise carbon use and maximise social inclusion, amenity and productive woodlands, promoting biodiversity on roofs and in gardens, and producing food (Thomson et al, 2003;Angold et al, 2006;Tzoulas et al, 2007), assisted by the ‗bridging' potential of the urban fringe (Gallent et al, 2004(Gallent et al, , 2006 (1990) and Scotland (1991) and England (2006). Character mapping has also facilitated integrated governance, as landscape character areas have proved remarkably compatible with ecological zones.…”