Trees

The city’s MillionTrees program fights asthma and global warming. But tightening maintenance budgets, increasingly severe weather and decades-old planting decisions complicate trees’ contribution.

Trees are an increasingly important part of the urban infrastructure. However, a lack a awareness about how to plant and nurture large trees in urban environments dooms many trees to lackluster performance and a short life.

Poor air quality has led to an explosion of a health problems among vulnerable populations, claims the American Society of Landscape Architects. This video explains how urban forests provide environmental benefits to densely populated cities.

The plan is believed to set a precedent for urban forestry management. It includes a Street Tree Designations component, created in response to one failed attempt to replace non-native palms with other types of trees.

PhillyTreeMap makes counting trees interactive with it’s users being able to add trees to its web-based digital map of Philadelphia, reports Gregory Thomas for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Not that it's a real surprise that trees clean the air, but a new study shows that greenery in cities can have a significant effect on air quality.

Elms, oaks and poplars- trees are an important part of our landscape, but their anonymity means that preservation can be challenging.

This piece from The Vancouver Sun looks into the controversy surrounding the removal of trees in the city, and what would have to be done to begin encouraging more tree plantings in the city.

With a downtown largely devoid of trees, Minneapolis is considering a new plan that would add more green life and greenspace to the city's center.

A study of tree cover and pregnant women suggests that women living in areas with more trees are less likely to give birth to undersized babies.

A historic tree near the campus of Stanford University is the centerpiece of a fight to redirect California's planned high speed rail project.

Researchers in Taiwan have discovered that gold nanoparticles can create luminescence in tree leaves, opening the possibility of glowing trees that cold act as streetlights.

Carbon dioxide is one of the most widespread greenhouse gases produced by humans. Trees can absorb it, but release it when they die. Scientists are looking to build artificial trees to do the job permanently.

GOOD points us to a new project that harnesses the power of citizens to create a census of trees in San Francisco.

This oped from The National calls for increased attention to the streetscapes of the United Arab Emirate, specifically the lack of non-palm trees and seating.

A new rating system for open and planted spaces has been created, offering a way to identify the most sustainable landscapes.

Officials in San Antonio say they've closed a legal loophole that allowed developers to clear trees for ranching or farming.

Civic amenities, public spaces, and even housing could one day be formed by living trees. Researchers are looking into this new idea.

Tom Coffin is tasked with fining those who remove Atlanta trees without a proper permit, but last week he was fired, allegedly for complaining about the “almost total lack of enforcement” by other arborists.