The city of Derby has been in the midst of an ambitious urban regeneration project since 2003, a key aspect of which has been the development of a public realm strategy that increases pedestrian freedom and enhances major civic spaces such as the Derby Railway Station. Derby City Council laid out a plan to modernize… More
Before anyone is lost to their thoughts or misgivings about the title of this post, this is not a piece on Germany in World War II or military strategies. Rather, this is about how odd parallels can be drawn between streets and nature, the built environment and natural one, and how an understanding of history… More
The Silva Cell has officially been designated as an approved equal for bioretention facilities by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Designers and engineers who want to incorporate Silva Cells in to their projects can now refer to the official document, Using the Western Washington Hydrology Model (Version 4.0) to Size Silva Cells for Runoff… More
During the reign of French King Henry IV (“Henry of Navarre”) from 1579 to 1610, he and his Duke of Sully remade French infrastructure with tree-lined highways. At the palace of Fontainebleau, rows of pines, elms, and fruit trees were added to the landscape. After the assassination of Henry, his widow, Queen Marie De Medici,… More
The remaking of Paris fell squarely onto the shoulders of Napoleon I’s grandson, Napoleon III. Napoleon III accepted his new position as Emperor when huge Parisian riots erupted in 1848, and removed the latest crop of monarchists and put the Bonapartes back on top. Unlike his grandfather, Napoleon III had a real flair for remaking… More
This week, all three of our posts are devoted to the history of street trees in Paris – a city that, as we conclude in today’s piece, could just as easily be called “City of Trees” as”City of Lights.” -LM Paris has been around for a long time, too long to cover in only one… More
I spent last week visiting my family in New York City. The city in April can be dicey – you can get blooming trees and flowers, or you can get freezing winds and sometimes even snow. I was lucky to get the former.
There are lots of ecological arguments for creating more green roofs, particularly in urban environments. Until now, though, I had never considered one additional benefit – certifying them as wildlife habitats. I started thinking about this after reading an item on the S.W.I.M. Coalition website about the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) of Grand… More
Alex Shigo, one of the most famous plant biologists and fathers of arboriculture, is widely credited with making huge improvements to standard industry practices. One of his famous sayings was an exhortation to “touch trees.” I’ve adapted this to my own related specialty, urban trees and soils, which is why I often tell landscape architects and other… More
We have a few video projects in the works, but this is the first one to be completed: a 90-second video showing how to assemble and install a UB 18-2 root barrier.
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.
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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