Google Earth is so much fun to explore. You can really and truly get lost in it, the feeling of “traveling” somewhere on your screen that you’ve never been in person. I recently saw that they’ve applied the same approach to creating a timelapse tool for the earth from 1984 to 2012 called Earth Engine.
In 2010, my colleague Peter MacDonagh attended the American Society of Consulting Engineers (ASCE) conference and emerged with a chart from a presentation given by Bram Gunther and Fiona Watt, of the New York City Department of Parks, that listed the urban tree canopy information for about two dozen U.S. cities. Ever since then, I’ve… More
Earlier this month we hosted a webinar where James Urban, FASLA was the guest speaker. This webinar complemented Jim’s article in the April 2013 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine, “The Root of the Problem.” During the webinar, Jim spoke about one of the most important points in the process of designing and planting a tree: that moment… More
(Read “Rise of the Curb Cut: Part 1 here). The fundamental behavior of stormwater in curbs and street design is simple. Each creature, each inanimate object, each molecule of everything functions and abides by its simple and powerful law every day: gravity. From this basic concept, direct parallels can be drawn between the design elements… 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
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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