Tennessee’s Urban Forests Valued in the Billions

Overton Park | Memphis, Tennessee | Image Credit: Flickr User: duluoz-cats

Tennessee’s urban forests, currently valued at about $80 billion, also provide almost $650 million in benefits such as carbon storage, pollution removal, and energy reduction according to a new U.S. Forest Service report.

The authors of Urban Forests of Tennessee, 2009 (published in early 2012) found there are 284 million trees in urban areas in the state, with canopies covering 33.7 percent of 1.6 million acres of urban area. Those urban forests provide an estimated $204 million per year in pollution removal and $66 million per year in energy savings. The study is the first of its kind in Tennessee.

Continue reading Tennessee’s Urban Forests Valued in the Billions

This Week in Landscape | 18 March 2012

This weeks round-up of landscape news from around the web

Biologists question viability of St. Petersburg Pier’s Underwater Garden plans | Craig Pittman and Waveney Ann Moore | Tampa Bay Times
“Los Angeles-based designer of the Lens, Michael Maltzan Architecture, contended in an email to the Times that the Underwater Garden “is based on sound principles of estuary restoration and species diversification that have been applied and proven effective throughout Tampa Bay.”

The bioswales of New York: A city plan to make more tree-stands and less sewage runoff | Dan Rosenblum | Capital New York
Dan gives a brief introduction to bioswales in New York and some background to bioswales.

Jakarta to Plan City Through 2025 | Ronna Nirmala | Jakarta Post
Jakarta, one of the largest cities in Asia has announced that it is currently developing a plan for the city through to 2025.

Urban underground planning in Vietnam neglected | Tuoitrenews.com.vn
Master planning in Vietnam is not just limited to the above ground landscape – the underground also needs a masterplan.

Tide waits for no man: The amazing beach artist who starts every day with a new canvas | Rachel Richkard Straus
Artist Andres Amador creates intricate land art works in the sand that are washed away in hours

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USA urban forests losing ground

Albuquerque Aerial 2006 (Flickr User kla4067)

National results indicate that tree cover in urban areas of the United States is declining at a rate of about 4 million trees per year, according to a U.S. Forest Service study published recently in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.

Tree cover in 17 of the 20 cities analyzed in the study declined while 16 cities saw increases in impervious cover, which includes pavement and rooftops. Land that lost trees was for the most part converted to either grass or ground cover, impervious cover or bare soil.

Of the 20 cities analyzed, the greatest percentage of annual loss in tree cover occurred in New Orleans, Houston and Albuquerque. Researchers expected to find a dramatic loss of trees in New Orleans and said that it is most likely due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Tree cover ranged from a high of 53.9 percent in Atlanta to a low of 9.6 percent in Denver while total impervious cover varied from 61.1 percent in New York City to 17.7 percent in Nashville. Cities with the greatest annual increase in impervious cover were Los Angeles, Houston and Albuquerque.

Continue reading USA urban forests losing ground

This Week in Landscape | 5 February 2012

This weeks round-up of landscape news and views from around the web

Emotional Landscapes: Interview with landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh | Gideon Fink Shapiro | BMW Guggenheim Lab
Michael Van Valkenburgh interview about urban landscapes and what they can do

The architecture meltdown | Scott Timberg | Salon
With the economy still in the doldrums where does architecture go from here?

How should we design urban parks? | The Urban Portal | University of Chicago
A social science look at parks, the important differences and the costs of parks in cities.

Building green cities using public/private partnerships | Matthew Kahn | Christian Science Monitor
Public funding for environmentally friendly urban centers benefits private investors, too

Re-greening the Plateau |Michelle Lalonde | Montreal Gazette
Residents are fighting to save their street trees, even if it means removing parking spots

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Urban Prairie | Gatineau Canada | Claude Cormier + Associés with Aedifica

Fall view from the Museum | ©Claude Cormier + Associés inc.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization, designed by Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal and inaugurated in 1989, is comprised of two pavilions, their architecture a startling embodiment of the country’s distinguishing geographical features. The public display wing replicates the dramatic effect of the glaciers; the contours of the curatorial wing symbolize the majestic Canadian Shield; and the open Plaza simulates the vast Great Plains. The layout and sheer size of the Plaza were planned in such a way as to visually incorporate the Museum buildings and the Parliament Buildings perched across the Ottawa River. However, the Plaza’s lack of appeal had left it empty of visitors for much of the year. To remedy the situation, we extended the Museum’s original conceptual metaphor, bringing to life what had long remained latent: the swaying grasses of the Prairies.

Continue reading Urban Prairie | Gatineau Canada | Claude Cormier + Associés with Aedifica

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