Street Trees

Tree stump in an urban sidewalk

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.

June 28, 2023 - Smart Cities Dive

Aerial view of green trees over residential neighborhood with Austin, Texas skyline in the background

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.

April 3, 2023 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of landscaped street with street trees and pedestrian sidewalk

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.

February 7, 2023 - Urbanize LA

New York Street

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.

December 12, 2022 - Bloomberg CityLab

Urban separated bike lane with street trees on one side and cars parked on the other

How Urban Trees Save Lives

New research shows a strong connection between a healthy urban tree canopy and lowered mortality rates.

December 1, 2022 - Congress For New Urbanism

Cherry Blossom Washington, D.C.

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.

April 2, 2020 - The Washington Post

Rua Goncalo de Carvalho

Debunking Anti-Tree Myths

Most of the reasons street trees are sometimes unpopular with residents are either untrue or can be mitigated.

August 8, 2019 - PlanPhilly

Chelsea

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.

December 5, 2018 - Michael Lewyn

Protected Bike Lane

The Vancouver Model of Traffic Safety Includes Trees

Vancouver combined environmental goals and traffic safety goals.

August 10, 2018 - Sightline Institute

California State Capital

Friday Eye Candy: The Comfort of Street Trees

It's getting hot out there. Plant all the trees.

June 15, 2018 - YouTube

Downtown Dallas

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.

May 18, 2018 - D Magazine

The Village

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.

August 23, 2016 - DeepRoot

San Francisco

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.

July 20, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

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.

August 4, 2015 - The Nature of Cities

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.

December 12, 2014 - The Courier-Journal

palms

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.

October 12, 2014 - Congress for the New Urbanism

Trees

'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.

October 2, 2014 - Trees in Hard Landscapes: A Guide for Delivery

Treeless Ann Arbor

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.

May 2, 2014 - Community Builders

LA Oldest Palm Tree

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?

April 21, 2013 - Los Angeles Magazine

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.

January 28, 2013 - Next City

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