SuDS, Trees and Brownfield
In the UK, mainland Europe and beyond, planners and elected representatives all face a common problem – namely, that there is pressure to house and provide essential services and infrastructure to meet the rapidly changing and diversifying needs of our increasingly populated urban environments. When the question of developing greenfield sites is mooted, there is […]
Placing Green at the Heart of the Development
In our previous blog – “Will we see tree-lined streets on all new developments?” – we highlighted the recent Planning for Future White paper – stating that all new streets should be tree-lined and all new homes to be carbon neutral by 2050. Although great news, like others within the industry, we have challenged these aspirations, asking such questions as what defines a tree-lined street? […]
Festival of Ideas: Designing for Successful SuDS
SuDS, the acronym everyone is talking about. Smart planning for sustainable urban drainage system features, has largely become the new focus for successful designs. SuDS systems can work on practically any scale; from plot-level components like rainwater harvesting and green roofs, to very large schemes that include several SuDS systems working together. 2021’s key focus […]
Discussing the Basics of Root Management
Whilst tree roots can grow deep into the ground, most tree species that we plant in the UK streets are relatively shallow rooting (most of the roots within the top one metre) – depending on the geology. It is these rooting patterns that tend to cause long term problems with surrounding hard surfaces, but tree […]
Utilizing SuDS/LID Tree Pits for Microplastic Filtration
Pollutants from our urban runoff reaching our oceans is becoming a global problem. Even the most remote areas of the world are seeing washed up detritus – much travelling thousands of miles before being deposited on far away beaches. But what about the pollutants that don’t get washed up? Some of these elements break down […]
Discussing Tree Planting Mediums & Canopy Volume
Trees have evolved over millennia to grow in a wide variety of soil conditions. In fact, trees grow on every continent on earth except Antarctica, from the scorching African cities shaded by palms to the freezing Arctic circle with the birch, larch and willow trees that grow as far as the tree line allows. Life […]
