-Supporting and tripling the life expectancy of 67 trees, and helping to shape a sustainable identity for Normal’s Uptown Center: The Circle -The project won half a dozen awards and springboarded the city of Normal into a net positive economy. Halfway between St. Louis and Chicago, sits Normal, Illinois, a town of about 52,000 that… More
– In 2008, a pilot project to test Silva Cell’s ability to increase urban street canopy while using minimal surface area began. – 10 years later we’re seeing the initiative show great results. Stormwater was routed for the purpose of filtering the water and quality control. Trees that continued to receive stormwater runoff showed signs… 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
As discussed in previous blogs, tree and soil provide stormwater benefits in many different ways: Cleansing: Trees clean stormwater through many different mechanisms, including filtration, adsorption, and plant uptake. Interception: Interception is the amount of rainfall temporarily held on tree leaves and stem surfaces. This rain then drips from leaf surfaces and flows down the… More
– Silva Cells solved the 2009 CSO stormwater transition during the Marquette and 2nd Avenue (MARQ2) busway project, mitigating stormwater runoff. – Over 167 trees were installed along 48 blocks of downtown Minneapolis each with 588 ft3 (16.6 m3) of soil volume. – Above ground, the trees provide shade, clean air, and beauty. Below ground,… More
Creating a Standard for a Green Infrastructure Sidewalk This is the first of a series of five posts featuring case studies that illustrate the need for a paradigm shift for how streets and sidewalks are designed and constructed. This new paradigm for Green Infrastructure is based on Creativity, Collaboration, and Compromise (CC&C), and is demonstrated… More
A question we’re sometimes asked is, “can Silva Cells be cut?” Meaning, can they be modified in the field to fit around obstructions? The short answer is no. We do not advise cutting or in any way modifying individual Silva Cells. Think of it like playing the game Jenga, where you stack up rectangular wood… More
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
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
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
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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