Streets Without Trees

Street trees add an interesting dimension to the built environment, providing shade, visual relief and more. They frame the public realm so well that we might be shocked to witness our Main Streets without them. This series of images does just that.

1 minute read

May 2, 2014, 7:00 AM PDT

By JohnLavey


Treeless Ann Arbor

Wystan / Flickr

We at Community Builders will not be the first to point out the value of street trees. Dan Burden, Kaid Benfield, Chuck Marohn and many others have done that. But though elegantly and passionately described, there is something missing from the existing body of street tree advocacy: A visual examination of the stark difference between streets with trees, and streets without.

Streets Without Trees takes a look at several communities in the Rocky Mountain west through just this lens. Starting with images of streets already lined with trees, we manipulate the image to result in the same scene with our leafy friends removed. The difference is quite noticeable, and we hope will remind us of a deep-rooted appreciation for them. 

Thursday, May 1, 2014 in Community Builders

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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