A couple of years ago, I wrote hopefully about the City of San Francisco’s plans to revamp our main thoroughfare, Market Street. The project, which began in 2009 and planned to improve transit, pedestrian spaces, and business opportunities, represented a tremendous opportunity for Market Street to meet the grandness of its proportions. I hoped for… More
What do trees really need? Sunlight, surely. Water, and nutrients from the soil. But do they need pruning? Some trees are said to be self-pruning, shedding dead limbs or even overly heavy live limbs. Trees and plants have evolved for millennia without our intervention.
Earlier this year, I wrote about a study by Dr. Jessica Sanders, Director of Technical Services and Research at Casey Trees, that concluded that “apparent available soil” was a good predictor of ultimate tree size. Now, Dr. Sanders and two co-authors, Jason Grabosky and Paul Cowie, have published a complete version of their study in the… More
My generation, the millennials, has been described as politically apathetic many times and by many people. I’m not sure it’s an entirely fair characterization, but I do relate to a feeling of powerlessness when it comes to influencing policies and other types of fundamental changes. When I was a kid, my parents and teachers would… More
Read Part I of The History of Street Trees here. In the United States we have hockey season, football season, etc. Well, in the Middle Ages of Europe there was a war season. It was after the fields were sowed and through the summer until harvest. Lords (i.e., kings) would round up farm boys and… More
Toronto has one of the most ambitious urban forestry plans in North America. In addition to setting minimum soil volumes for street trees of 30 cubic meters (1,059 cubic feet) per tree, they have set a goal of increasing their overall tree canopy from 17 percent to 40 percent. In 2007, the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement… More
We spend a lot of time at DeepRoot talking about the big picture of “green infrastructure,” but in order to assist in creating viable and sustainable urban eco-systems, we must actually produce products. Plastic products.
Silva Cells were originally developed to provide adequate tree rooting volumes even in areas dominated by pavement. They do this by extending rootable soil volume under HS20 load bearing surfaces. These rootable tree volumes and the large trees that root in them are also an efficient sustainable stormwater management system. Sometimes people ask us if… More
Today’s blog entry is reprinted testimony from Dr. Franco Montalto, PE, given to the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation at a public hearing on the environmental causes and effects of extreme weather events. The testimony was given on January 13th, 2013 and originally appeared on SwimmableNYC’s blog. Dr. Montalto is an… More
Disturbance to pipes and sidewalks caused by roots is one of the most commonly cited complaints about trees. One of the many questions I get asked about is whether they penetrate and plug up drain pipes frequently. The answer – perhaps surprisingly – is no.
There are many advantages to using permeable pavers over Silva Cell installations. The two biggest are maximizing stormwater volume, rate, and quality benefits, and minimizing installation and maintenance labor requirements. In today’s post, I’ll be discussing these two stormwater benefits (as well as a few extras!) in more detail.
Here is this week’s “Ask Jim Urban” column. Jim Urban, FASLA is an expert on urban trees and soils and his recent book, Up By Roots, is the industry bible on these topics. Jim was also involved in the development and design of the Silva Cell system. In this column, which we’ve run for once a… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
Request a Quote [email protected]
Tel: 415 781 9700
Toll Free: 800 458 7668
Toll Free: 800 277 7668
Fax: 415 781 0191
