Cities are generally both warmer and more polluted than non-urban areas, as paved surfaces absorb heat, leading to increased energy consumption, and vehicle and human activity produces waste and airborne particulate matter. These have huge negative consequences for human health, but a dense urban tree canopy can help reduce these risks. The role trees play… More
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) is a coalition of America’s largest cities committed to building safe, sustainable transportation systems and active cities through better street design and transportation policy. NACTO has established itself as a leader in changing the way our streets operate for people regardless of transportation choice and has assembled… More
Historically, the work of stormwater engineers has involved capturing rainwater and conveying the flows offsite as quickly as possible. This approach led to the development of a vast system of large, centralized treatment facilities handling millions of gallons of stormwater annually – a very efficient, but not very environmentally-minded solution.
The sounds of the city are adored by some as a source of energy and excitement – the hustle and bustle of people crowding the sidewalks accented by cars and buses whooshing past. Dogs bark, people shout, music plays from a window, and somewhere (hopefully in the distance) a siren wails. These noises are as… More
Historically, the best way to plan for future storms has been to look at the past. Significant effort has been put into to developing long-term rainfall records, and many of the most complex stormwater models are designed to run simulations that represent decades of rainfall data. But a changing climate means that storm patterns are… More
This is the second of a two-part series about urban soil assessment and reuse. Read part 1 here. While the types of questions one might ask about urban soils are somewhat similar to the questions an agricultural soil scientist might ask about farm soils, the methods to get information is dramatically different. Urban soils are… More
A critical part of any landscape architect’s training is to learn how to understand the site conditions before starting the design. There is likely nothing more important than soil to the success of anything placed on it or planted into it. Urban sites, and thus urban soil, make up a large part of the work… More
As engineers and landscape architects working in the built environment, we are increasingly faced with retrofit situations that must work with and around a variety of existing conditions and constraints. As stormwater requirements increase, requiring more storage or larger footprints, we must think creatively to locate and design systems to fit into an already constrained… More
As a consulting arborist, I am often called upon to diagnose and help “sick” trees in a landscape. The primary cause of health problems for many of the trees I look at are related to impacts from a landscape renovation or home remodel. Despite best intentions, many bad things can happen to trees during development… More
This summer we surveyed arborists and designers about the issues they encountered buying trees free from uncorrectable root defects. We published the results of that survey on this blog. To review: nursery-grown trees, especially those in containers, can have root defects such as girdling, circling and diving roots which contribute to tree health problems or… More
Trees influence meteorological and climatic effects at all scales of a city, from pocket parks to entire neighborhoods. However, while research has been done on the effect of trees canopies on urban environments in general, we are only now beginning to understand how urban canopies affect climate at all scales of the city – from… More
The will of plants to live in tough urban spaces – and of people to tend them – defies all odds. The space between the curb and the sidewalk is one of the toughest. Author Evelyn J. Hadden calls it the “hellstrip.” Also known as “park strips,” “planting strips,” or sometimes “medians,” these spaces generally… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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