Developing Green Infrastructure in Cities Requires a Paradigm Shift The imperative of dealing with climate change has generated the need for cities to develop “green” infrastructure. The development of green, environmentally ethical, infrastructure needs upstream support from politicians and policymakers to succeed. It also requires fundamental changes downstream to the way plans for streets and… More
We have a lot of resources about implementing minimum soil volumes for urban trees on this blog. Recently we’ve updated our list of municipalities that have a minimum soil volume standard. Trees need an adequate volume of root, oxygen-rich soil to thrive, and minimum soil volume policies are a powerful tool for arborists and other advocates… More
The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) is teaching by example, adding Silva Cells to its campuses. As part of the SDUSD site modernization plan, this year two schools added Silva Cells to their campus, and five more SDUSD schools will be exploring Silva Cells as part of the underground bioretention strategy for their campus… More
There are now dozens of open-source tree maps in communities worldwide. The most successful mapping projects are those that provide citizen scientists with simple guides on how to accurately identify tree species and assess tree health. The more accurate the information on the tree maps, the more accurate the green infrastructure calculations they produce – and the… More
An oasis of nine trees thrives below a bustling roundabout in Salford, U.K. Part of the Gateway Quays project, the Himalayan Birch (Betula Utilis Jacquemontii) trees are supported by 184 Silva Cells, providing over 47m3 of shared rooting volume. The Regent Road Roundabout and Gateway Triangle were reconstructed 10 years ago to the day. The… More
For those with a mission to enhance urban forests, it is vital to have the latest statistics for urban forest or urban tree canopy coverage. In 2010, we shared a chart by Watt and Gunther highlighting the percentage of urban tree canopy (UTC) (urban forests), broken down by city in the United States. Both the… More
A 240-year-old market glows with resilient green infrastructure and people-centric design Richmond, Virginia’s 17th Street Farmers Market is the oldest of its kind in the nation, declared a public market in 1779. (Though some accounts claim it started unofficially as early as 1737). As commerce grew, so did the market, and in 1854 a building… More
I often get asked, “Do you have any Silva Cell installations in New York City?” After more than a decade of Silva Cell presence in the Greater NYC area, I am a bit incredulous that it is not more well-known in the industry. The answer is a definitive “yes!” A review of our projects in… More
Over the past century, Miami Beach’s famous Lincoln Road has seen many significant changes. Historic redesigns of this iconic South Beach promenade have run the gamut from tropical to urban to a complement of the two. In 2010, DeepRoot’s Silva Cell was a key part of the successful green infrastructure redesign of the mixed-use extension… More
Sovereign Square is the first significant redevelopment in Leeds City Centre in a generation. Seven years ago, the City of Leeds, a financial and legal hub in the UK, initiated the transformation of an industrial site to a green, urban oasis. Between Sovereign Place and Sovereign Street, the aptly named Sovereign Square has become what… More
It’s hard to tell just by looking at a tree-lined street, but soil and its microbes, in combination with trees, work together as a powerful system to improve the quality of stormwater that is filtered through it. Some pollutants are held or filtered by soil, others are taken up or transformed by plants or microbes,… More
A big part of this blog is devoted to the discussion of trees, soil, and stormwater in the urban context. Today we want to walk through the three processes that allow trees in uncompacted soil to provide stormwater quantity and rate control benefits: Soil storage Interception Evapotranspiration
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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