I had some audio issues with the first version so that's why there were two notifications, my bad 😅

Every city should have a free street tree program

The humble street tree is an unsung hero of urbanism. Provides shade, soaks up rainwater to help prevent flooding, provides a natural bollard of sorts to protect pedestrians, slows down traffic by putting more obstructions in drivers' line of sight, provides psychological and physical health benefits from adding more nature into the city, and just plain looks pretty. I'm lucky enough to live in another city with a great urban forest (Boulder, Colorado) and I think it's something every city should have.

Contrast virtually any South Philly neighborhood with a neighborhood like Fitler Square, and you’ll immediately understand how street trees make an enormous difference.

Another reason to have narrow streets; the tree canopy provides shade across the street instead of just on the sidewalk.

0:40 what pretty houses!

I love street trees in the city. Philly and Boston are two cities that excel in that. Makes you feel like you are time traveling with the row homes and tight streets. Great bike city!

Dense East Coast cities need way more street trees!

*Ann Arbor has entered the chat* Street trees are great! I am jealous of Philly's little streets (and public transit obvs).

Portland has some beautiful trees but god damn if it ain’t common for me to see a tree and think about how if any Philly arborists saw them they would weep. There are some apples that I know will only live a few years. There are some that absolutely are gonna get their roots choked. And we get enough rain to keep them alive

Damn Philadelphia looks super cozy

I’m from Chicago but I’ve read a lot about Philly’s street trees bc there’s lots of good research on it. From what I remember, there’s actually studies to suggest street trees reduce crime because they provide shade, and hot temperatures tend to be associated with more crime. Also the anti-tree sentiment some people have is so strange to me. Chicago also has quite good and coverage (both cities have a lot in common tbh) and it’s one of my favorite things about our urban design, though I think it’s more consistent here than Philly bc afaik South Philly has practically no tree coverage.

I feel like the south side of Chicago does really well with tree coverage. Hyde Park in particular is full of trees along streets. It’s pretty impressive that Philly has trees in such narrow streets though.

Uh, Chicago has a lot of tree-canopied streets. Yes, there are parts of the city that do not have as much coverage, but I'd say the majority of residential streets are like that and very dense coverage, too. It's one of the things I love about Chicago.

I love street trees

I think trees help absorb noise as well. A lot of cities would look so much less "concrete jungle" with just a bit of street tree action.

Was there any doubt. PHILLY!!!

Visit Sacramento some time. The street tree coverage in downtown/midtown is really good.

Love the short Philly vid! Maybe do one on the Philly Piers next? Pretty cool example of abandoned infrastructure turned into unsanctioned public green space

After about a little less than a year living in Philly, I just love finding random cute streets to stroll through when I get the chance and this makes it clear that most of the charm comes from the giant tree canopies that are just so welcoming

Cambridge MA has the same. I will say though, it makes walking on the sidewalk with somebody else kind of annoying. Also, the roots (at least in Cambridge) do wreck havoc on the sidewalks at times

I had a friend who lives in DC visit me in Philly and this is one of the first things he noticed when we walked around the city.

Some of the best street coverage, especially for older trees is out over in west!

Some of those sidewalks are not very accessible with all of the obstructions but I guess most of those places are low traffic streets.

Savannah, GA also does quite well with tree coverage from when I visited. Couldn't agree more!!! Only thing is to not do it like the carolina's where they planted a monoculture of massive pollinators all over the place

Parts of Boston also have pretty excellent tree coverage, but Philly takes the W for sure

Looks great

its great for shading from the sun, but some might say its not so great because its blocking there natural light from their window. It just depends on how they implement it

Cleveland heights (and I believe Cleveland) has a free street tree program. I got one planted in front of the place I was renting

It does lovely. Do they pick special varieties that don't have a wide ball of roots?

Telling all these tales raises serious questions. Yale and many buildings been around since the 16th century, yet trees are only 200 years old. Wonder why there weren't any trees around before 300 years ago at most? Trees are easy to date, the rings inside say no trees much in 16th century, or 17th, massive planting of trees in 18th century, all in perfect alignment too. (some birds made)

The Fanatic and Gritty mural

Our street trees are great, but man the Ginkgo trees can be brutal!

Is South Philly getting better with street trees? Last time I was in Passyunk 5 years ago, I was turns off at how little greenery was around.

Trees provide shade, shade is dark, darkness means crime? I guess?

LONG LIVE PHILLY BITS

Do they cut down the trees when they get too big so they don't tear up the sidewalk?

I would argue that Pittsburgh has the much better tree coverage. Granted we also have a much lower population lol. Pittsburgh also has a pretty amazing tree program too.

Number of trees has an inverse correlation to crime rates

More street trees 2024!

insert deadly fixed object discourse here

Oh man, we should cut the Amazon forest down, who knows how much *C R I M E* goes in there! 😱😩

i will never understand the people who complain about these. I’ve met some, talking about getting sap or pollen on their car mostly. I’d much rather wash off a bit of sap than dealing with UV-damaged bodywork… not to mention the car is cooler to get in!

I heard somewhere that you can lower crime by keeping the lawns mowed in a neighborhood is that true?

so uh, you going to mention the stuff in Kensington and how to fix the drug problem?

Street Trees are the unsung heroes of cities. Trees in neighborhoods and developments in general are. Pennsylvanians have a disgusting obsession with 2 acre grass yards. It is like they have a contest to see who's grass is the greenest. I think there should be tax incentives to have tree canopy on your property.

Just build geothermal/solar-powered structures that suck in carbon with umbrella canopies, problem easily solved! Street trees are so last century, and Philly proves that. When will we finally cut down the last tree in all of our major cities and replace them with more modern, sleek apparatuses?

Lol people just think dark equals crime. Always the case even if it doesn't make sense.

hi

Street trees... are good?!

No effort june!

I prefer NYCs street scaffolds. Blocks rain, more shade coverage, no clean up, no allergies. It sounds silly, but I'd like to see more artificial shade options. Narrower Streets and taller buildings also help provide shade.

Weak sauce, take note from "The City of Trees"/