Managing the Root of the Problem | Part 3: Utilizing Root Management Systems
With clients often requiring complete life costing and other duty-of-care obligations, it is no longer acceptable to simply plant a tree in an urban setting with the hopes that its roots stay out of trouble. In this final article of the Managing the Root of the Problem series, we discuss current best practice techniques in urban tree […]
Managing the Root of the Problem | Part 2: Poor Root Management in Practice
In Part 2 of “Managing the Root of the Problem” series, we look at why specific examples of poor root management and show just how serious dysfunctional root systems can be. This post is primarily visual because sometimes words alone just can’t explain it. Poor root management has caused this tree’s root system to colonize immediately […]
Managing the Root of the Problem | Part 1: The Dilemma of Unmanaged Roots
Every year, millions of urban trees die prematurely or are removed due to infrastructure damage and/or public safety concerns caused by poorly managed roots. This problem is largely a result of improper planting techniques, and although specific causes vary, there are some particular issues that account for the majority of issues – one of which is dysfunctional […]
9 Reasons Our Cities Need Mature Urban Trees
Trees improve the livability of urban areas for many reasons. However for several years now, tree canopy in our cities and towns has been diminishing. Large mature trees which reach the end of their lives are frequently replaced with smaller species, or not at all. Then, replanted trees often struggle to establish and reach maturity due to […]
Underground Stormwater Storage with Structural Support Cells
Turning what most urban planners view as a threat into an opportunity is not easy. Extreme rainfall can have potentially catastrophic consequences – but they can also bring huge benefits if channeled properly. GreenBlue has invested many years into the research of urban tree development, and have designed proven systems to utilize stormwater and turn […]
The Process of Successful Tree Design
Urban tree populations in cities around the world are on the decline. For over 23 years, GreenBlue has performed research into why urban trees fail and what can be implemented to change this degeneration. Arming urban landscape professionals of all trades with proven urban tree planting methods and best practice techniques is the best way […]
Tree Roots in Soil Cells
At GreenBlue, we always advocate that below ground is what counts! Well in this visual research report, we prove how growing urban trees in soil cells is the most successful way to plant trees in paved surrounds. In 2011 our special ‘Tilia’ tree was planted in a hardscape paved area as part of a detailed research […]
How Much Soil Do Urban Trees Need?
Trees need appropriate amounts of loose, moist, well aerated, and uncompacted soil in order to mature in the urban environment. These conditions enable the tree’s roots to obtain nutrients, oxygen, and water – all essential for healthy tree growth. After defining in detail the soil requirements needed for healthy root growth in last week’s post, we […]
Successful Tree Pit Design
This slideshare arms landscape architects and urban designers with proven tree pit design methods to ensure the successful establishment of our urban tree canopy cover. The Process of Successful Tree Pit Design from GreenBlue Urban
Soil Under Pavement: Comparison of Methods
What is the best way to promote tree root growth in the soil under a sidewalk? It’s a question that landscape architects, urban planners, arborists, and related professionals from cities large and small have no doubt considered. A study being conducted by Bartlett Tree Experts, a third party tree research laboratory that performs various tree related […]
Pioneering the ‘Shared Space’ Woonerf
In order to calm vehicular traffic movements in dense pedestrian areas, urban planners and local authorities around the world are increasingly adopting the ‘shared space’ concept developed by Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman. The introduction of these open space environments over recent years has changed the way our urban landscapes are designed. A central goal of the concept being to remove […]
Pavement, Trees, & The Space Between
The purpose of pavement is simple: to support traffic loads. Or so most would think… But what about the space below pavement? And what about the purpose pavement has as a base around urban trees? How can street trees be provided for underground with all the structural requirements of engineering a roadway? In this article, we discuss the […]
What To Know About Maintaining Urban Trees
Healthy, properly maintained trees do more than enhance the aesthetics of an environment. The benefits of urban trees are numerous and evident, and encompass many aspects from cleaning the air, to providing shade, to dampening noise, to increasing property value. Not to mention the sustainable element they bring to our urban infrastructures. However, despite the magnitude […]
Trees and Climate Change
Climate change is said to be the most significant environmental challenge of the century. Governments around the globe are grappling with what to do and how to mitigate the increasing threat. With COP21, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, just around the corner, cooperation of over 190 countries aims to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate. […]
How Virginia State Used Tree Plantings to Appeal to Residents
Although built infrastructure of all kind is necessary for our cities and daily lives, it often isn’t something we enjoy looking at. And as the Fairfax County residents on Stevenson Avenue faced, the prospect of a 15 foot brick wall immediately across the street from their front door wasn’t something they were particularly pleased with. But, with a little ingenuity and […]
7 Urban Tree Health Benefits You’d Hardly Believe
City life isn’t always easy, but trees are proven to have surprising effects on the physical and psychological well-being of urban populations. Scientific research outlined in this article continues to prove overwhelming evidence of the numerous health benefits and advantages that mature trees offer. In this article, we discuss the ways that urban trees improve human health, and […]
The True Value of Green Infrastructure
The City Council of Edinburgh, UK wishes to identify, measure and value the outcomes that are achieved as a direct result of the street trees and green space that are provided and maintained by the city’s Parks and Greenspace service. Highlights from Keith Logie on the impact and value of trees and green infrastructure in […]
Urban Drainage & Stormwater Management Terminology: LID, SUDS, & WSUD
Global urbanization has brought increased stormwater challenges and made the management of urban drainage systems critically important to cities around the world. Urban drainage and stormwater management practices have therefore seen considerable change over the years. While urban drainage was once seen only as a problem, the opportunities it presents in additional water supply, increased […]
Amazon Rainforest Enriched by Sahara Desert Erosion
The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose – Isaiah 35 v. 1 That man is responsible for the deserts is not disputed. After God, ‘out of the ground, made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food’ man was placed in the Garden of Eden specifically to till […]
The Importance of Urban Trees in Stormwater Management
Drainage problems arising from increasing levels of urbanization have exacerbated the limitations of conventional surface-water drainage measures. Street trees can be essential components to the management of stormwater in urban areas. Like their woodland forest equivalents, urban trees direct precipitation into the ground through trunk flow and absorb rainfall through their roots – making them […]
What is Green Infrastructure?
Green Infrastructure is about bringing together natural and built environments and using a cities’ landscape as infrastructure. It is defined as natural vegetation and vegetative technologies that collectively provide society with a broad array of products and services for healthy living; and takes many forms including urban forests, natural areas, green roofs and green walls, […]
4 Methods of Accommodating Utilities in Tree Pit Design
We need trees in our cities – but preventing tree roots from interfering with infrastructure is an ongoing issue. Utilities and other services are frequently encountered during the construction of tree pits, but what is the best way to accommodate them? There are four main methods for creating service ducts through soil cells in tree […]
What Trees Bring to our Cities
Ongoing scientific research over the last decade has continued to provide overwhelming evidence of the numerous benefits and advantages that trees can bring to the urban environment, in terms of both their social and environmental impact. This infographic illustrates a few of these benefits. To download a copy of this infographic, or for a more […]
What Landscape Architects & Urban Planners Should Know About Urban Sustainability
For the past several decades, it has become internationally recognized that the earth is unable to indefinitely support the type and extent of human activities that currently drive society. Sustainable development that ensures the healthy, lasting establishment of our local infrastructures mitigates this threat, and urban trees are essential to achieving and maintaining the sustainable environmental conditions […]
How Trees Act as Sound Barriers in Urban Environments
It is not an unknown fact that noise can reach unhealthy levels in urban areas. Cities across the world have acknowledged the impacts of noise pollution and enacted by-laws and practices to battle this increasing environmental issue. Noise abatement has become an important consideration for many municipalities as they constantly look at ways of suppressing […]
