Entries by Leda Marritz | Next City
-
Saving the Urban Canopy
U.S. cities are losing around 4 million trees each year, but increasingly local governments are imposing soil minimums to help stem the tide. Here’s a look at four such policies.
-
Urban Trees: Let’s Grow Old Together
Mature urban trees are known to reduce crime, improve air quality and save energy. Many local policies focus on the number of trees that get planted, rather than the quality. But that’s not the case everywhere, and explains why places like Dublin, Ohio will have a healthy urban forest for years to come.
-
Planting Trees Is Like Not Eating A Marshmallow
Almost every part of a development or redevelopment is at its best and most valuable when it is the newest. Trees are the rare exception to this rule. They look better and better — and function accordingly — as they mature.
-
A Million Trees? Only If We Can Keep Them Around
While it’s admirable that cities across the country have adopted programs to plant more trees in urban environments, it won’t amount to much if we don’t give enough attention to nurturing trees to maturity, when they yield far more benefits as green infrastructure.
