Street Trees

The Maintenance Gap in Tree Planting Programs
Tree planting is a highly visible way to show investment in a community, but without regular maintenance, street trees can become a nuisance rather than a benefit.

Street Trees as Climate Resilience
An Austin-based urban designer explains how protecting and encouraging the planting of street trees will make the city more resilient to increasingly common extreme heat events, among many other benefits.

South L.A. Complete Streets Project Back on Track
First proposed in 2015, the Broadway-Manchester redesign would add bike infrastructure, pedestrian improvements, trees, and other amenities.

New York City’s Tree Map Gets More Data
The online tool now shows granular, tree-level data that highlights the public health benefits and economic contributions of urban trees.

How Urban Trees Save Lives
New research shows a strong connection between a healthy urban tree canopy and lowered mortality rates.

Urban Forestry Plans Obstructed by Urban Development Plans in D.C.
Growth and development are the biggest obstacles to Washington, D.C.'s plans to add more than 10,000 trees every year over the next 25 years.

Debunking Anti-Tree Myths
Most of the reasons street trees are sometimes unpopular with residents are either untrue or can be mitigated.

Walkable City Rules: A Detailed Guide to Walkability
Jeff Speck's new book not only makes the case for narrow, walkable streets, but also provides more detailed guidance for specialists.

The Vancouver Model of Traffic Safety Includes Trees
Vancouver combined environmental goals and traffic safety goals.

Friday Eye Candy: The Comfort of Street Trees
It's getting hot out there. Plant all the trees.

Dallas Considers a Major Revision to its Tree Ordinance
Neither environmentalists nor developers like the city’s current regulations around tree removal, but there is praise on both sides for the “smart and nimble” new version.

Looking to Add More Trees? Mind the 'Sidewalk Gray Zone'
A case study provided by the MillionTreesNYC program offers insight into complicated territorial boundaries that can challenge urban greening projects.

San Francisco Shifts Maintenance Burden for Street Trees Back to the City
Three proposed legislative measures would undo one of the more obvious signs of the recession, and return the responsibility for street trees to the city.
The Great New York Tree Census
Inside access to a huge volunteer effort underway in New York City to account for the condition of an estimated 600,000 street trees—where every single one of the city's trees counts.
Street Trees on State Roads Spark Controversy in Louisville
Louisville's goals to plant and grow an urban forest to mitigate the city's heat island effect has run afoul of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's engineering standards for state owned roads.

Trees In Urban Design: Are You Planting a Liability or Growing an Asset?
Trees are a vital element of urban design, one that must considered at every stage of planning, design and development.

'Trees in Hard Landscapes': Guide for High-Performance Urban Infrastructure
A new cross-disciplinary report cites 32 case studies to offer practical solutions for integrating trees into civic spaces and surface car parks.

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.

LA's Oldest Palm Tree Thrives after 150 Years
In Los Angeles, where “historic” is a relative term, a 150-year-old house is remarkable. How about a 150-year-old palm tree?
Providing a Healthy Foundation for Our Arboreal Aides
As new studies show the fundamental connection between trees and human health, cities are recognizing the essential elements in cultivating thriving urban canopies. And they're enacting policies to ensure their protection and growth.
Pagination
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Washington University
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
Lassen County Planning and Building Services
City of San Carlos
National Capital Planning Commission
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.