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I guess this niche market is what I was referring to. It is a way to recycle urban timber that would have other wise gone to the landfill or be chipped into mulch.  The wood that my old boss reclaims falls into this category. He has relationships with local Tree companies who call him up when they are removing or trimming trees where the wood may…[Read more]

I don’t mind being off subject if you don’t.  When I worked in Chicago in the Urban Foresty and Arboricultural industry people asked me all the time to look at their magnificent walnut trees.  ‘This is my retirement’ or ‘Ticket to easy-street’ usually came up in the conversation.  But perception is far different than reality.  Here is what peo…[Read more]

I have worked as an arborist through my Landscape Architecture schooling and my old boss has created a company based on the idea of recycling urban timber.  He gets his timber from relationships with local tree service companies and the city forestry department.  The shelves that our chainsaws would sit on in our shop were even milled from r…[Read more]

Wow, being from Detroit I couldn’t agree more.  Unions destroyed the entire metro area.  I doubt I would ever join a union after seeing how it affected so many families by crippling the auto industry, and putting a choke hold basically on the state.  Now in AZ, I see how the unions are trying to take over the education market, and the few te…[Read more]

Good points, David.
Thank-you

We’re getting a bit off subject here but…
1. To say it costs too much to harvest trees in urban areas is a sweeping generalization. Is it more expensive to send a team and heavy equipment into the backwoods or to send a few guys with light-equipment into the local park? Is it less expensive to take down trees to grind them into mulch (as is the…[Read more]

Interestingly enough timber trespass is still common these days, though I haven’t heard of any cases of it for harvesting logs in urban areas.  Maybe when the price of lumber goes up and the thrill of jacking copper loses its edge it may take off again.
Reality is it costs too much money to harvest trees in urban areas and there are no lumber…[Read more]

Hello all!  Misery loves company, and I just failed “E” for the second time…..after passing every other section the first time around…grrrrr

Yeah, I agree… it would be best if we designed environments in which trees could grow big and people / business could flourish. It’s a telling sign when we create spaces for our own inhabitance that can’t support other life forms.
Urban trees as lumber is interesting… why don’t municipalities mandate high-value trees instead of fast-growing?…[Read more]

Interesting. I think we should also just be honest with ourselves… why do we put trees in places where they can’t achieve their potential in any sustainable fashion? If we want trees in urban areas… they’ll either be miniatures (with your idea being one way to address a form of sustainability)… or we need to provide the green infrastructure…[Read more]

There is a lot to be said for urban tree management. With modern building practices, we need a new approach. Street trees just won’t get as big as they have in the past. As you pointed out earlier, a 4×4 cube is a death sentence for trees. Instead of letting that tree get too big for the space, allowing it to die and then replacing it, it could be…[Read more]

Heh… probably an idea someone might take you up on. One of the questions I do ask myself is to what end do we work “technology” to get trees that will still only live 10 years maybe (hopefully more!). Maybe more permanent urban design/canopies/artwork would fill some of the benefits without the need for a potential commitment to replacement…
 
p.

Rob:

The installation in Anchorage did use Silva Cells (Deep Root) with insulation above. They’ve been in 2-3 years now, and seem to be doing quite well. They were a maple tree (Crimson king or similar hardy type if memory serves). For the moment, the trees in the heated sidewalk seem to be doing similarly to the ones installed in a continuous…[Read more]

Fair question.
Nutty answer:
The local L.A. designed this. They are sub to an out-of-town design firm (architects and L.A.s) who have their own horticultural consultant. She (that consultant) questioned the use of CU soil. That’s all she questioned. So they wanted a second horticultural opinion. I have good history with the Owner and this design…[Read more]

Perhaps you could suggest / design a cooling tree grate system that pumps freon through a network in the steel, to offset the warming effect of the adjacent sidewalk 😉 This system might have world wide interest in warm climates that want to grow cold climate trees. Tree Refrigerators. You could sell millions of units to Dubai and cover the World…[Read more]

Knowledge. =)
 
And perhaps logical (pehaps cost neutral) alterations that might increase chances for success. If they’re spanning/cantilevering the pavement, leaving an air gap might be an option… and even if only for a small radius around the tree.
 
When we were researching this about 6 years ago, there just wasn’t much information out t…[Read more]

If the pits are dug, the grates and trees delivered and the design of the heating system/sidewalk has been determined, what exactly are they asking you to do? It seems that if you’re input can’t change anything, you’re only taking on personal liability by consulting on a project that has inherent flaws. Isn’t the best thing to do at this point to…[Read more]

Combo of the trees, the CU soils, and the insulating foam are troublesome. Sounds like a bad detail all the way. I actually don’t know anywhere where Acer Saccharum are used as street/plaza trees around here, but I’m not that far north.  I think the trees are the least of the problem, though, provided you do have the air gap to stop the roots…[Read more]

Of all the concerns, sun scald is actually my least. The trees penetrate a shade structure.
But it seems that all who have posted so far are uncomfortable with the idea especially for this species. Just as I was.
 
If someone in addition to Peter would chime in with their successful or failed experience I’d have more to take to the client.

Yeah, I absolutely agree. I was surprised at the choice.
But when I was brought in the trees were “on the way” (!)
 
I refer to these as street trees, but plaza might better capture the feel of the place