Agenda

09:15 Registration & Refreshments

09:30 Good Street Bad Street Warm Up

09:50 Street Design Principles – John Dales

10:10 Healthy Streets & Liveable Neighbourhoods – Oli Davey

10:30 Exercise: How hard can it be?

11:00 Break

11:40 Designing Level Surfaces – John Dales

12:30 Lunch

13:00 Hackney School Streets – Robert Nicholas

13:30 Economic Benefits of Walking and Cycling – Oli Davey

14:00 Green Streets – Paul Dodd

14:25 Art, Culture and Healthy Streets – Paul Dodd

14:45 Watch Out – Guarding against unintended consequences

15:45 Closing Group Exercise

16:00 Close

Green Infrastructure

Agenda

I. The Challenge & Policy

II. Benefits of Green Infrastructure

& Street Trees

III. Tree Species Selection

The Challenge

The Challenge

Surface materials around

trees, London Tree Officer

Association 2017

https://www.ltoa.org.uk/surfac

e-materials-around-trees-

document/file

London Environment

Strategy

Air Quality

Climate Change Mitigation

Climate Change Adaptation

Waste

Green Infrastructure

• Make London a National Park City

• Protect nature

• Green the built environment

• Natural capital approach – an

economic business case

Policy

To ensure that London’s growth is

Good Growth, each of the policy

areas in this Plan is informed by

the six Good Growth policies:

• Building strong and inclusive

communities

• Making the best use of land

• Creating a healthy city

• Delivering the homes Londoners

need

• Growing a good economy

• Increasing efficiency and

resilience

Policy

Green Infrastructure

Agenda

I. The Challenge & Policy

II. Benefits of Green Infrastructure

& Street Trees

III. Tree Species Selection

Place-value-wiki

The ladder of place qualities

http://placealliance.org.uk/place-value-

wiki/

Place-value-wiki

Evidence re. benefits of street trees and

greening

A1: Greenness and physical health

A2. Greenness and psychological well-being

B3. Street design and safety from collisions

B5. Urban vitality

B6. Inclusivity and social capital

C1. Property value and green space

D3. Thermal comfort, cooling and pollution

Benefits of Street Trees

The Canopy, Trees and Design Action

Group (TDAG 2011)

http://www.tdag.org.uk/the-canopy.html

GI can help address:

• Water quality

• Local flood risk (surface water &

combined sewer)

• Urban Heat Island

• Air quality (NO2 & particular matter)

• Biodiversity

• Active transportation (pedestrian &

cycling)

• Noise (from rail & road)

• Access to public open space

• Mental health, and Early years health

A1: Greenness and physical health

WHO Beneficial effects of urban green spaces on health (2016)

Urban green spaces improve mental health, reduce cardiovascular morbidity

and mortality, obesity and risk of type 2 diabetes and improve pregnancy

outcomes

A2. Greenness and psychological well-being

Street tree density and antidepressant use

Street trees decrease the risk of negative mental health outcomes

A2. Greenness and psychological well-being

Importance of trees in and around hospitals

Patients recovering in hospital rooms with tree views reduced recovery time

A2. Greenness and psychological

well-being

Importance of trees (including

street trees) seen from the home

Old people benefit from having a

green view from the living area

Reference Burton, Mitchell, & Stride,2015

B3. Street design and safety from collisions

In dense urban areas, less 'forgiving' design treatments such as

narrow lanes, traffic-calming measures, and street trees close to the

roadway help to reduce traffic speeds and are as effective as more

conventional methods

Traffic calming Carefully positioned trees can help to slow down cars. Within

urban settings they can be used as an alternative to bollards and speed

bumps or to reinforce the presence and enhance the role of a central

reservation

B5. Urban vitality

Trees and grass in social spaces provide more urban vitality

Quality of place

Trees have an important

aesthetic role in our

townscapes for many

reasons. Trees also create

a sense of scale that makes

us feel more comfortable,

bring delight with their

changing colour and foliage

over the seasons, modulate

light through shadow

patterns on walls and

pavements and frame

buildings.

B6. Inclusivity and social capital

An increase in density of tree cover in open spaces and neighbourhood

streets relates to an increase in social capital* * Social capital is networks and relationships among people who live & work in a particular society

Local food and community links

Fruit trees can be a great addition to a local food initiative. Planting new

community orchards in underused spaces and residential grounds, or

even along streets, can help address the current urban allotment

shortage and offer communities the opportunity to rediscover the

pleasures of eating fruit grown close to home

Economic potential

.

C1. Property value and green space

Housing in the vicinity of landscaping with trees results in higher property value.

Research in Minneapolis

Trees make a positive contribution to the creation of places that are

good for business. Trees in retail areas positively affects shoppers

perception & behaviour. Residential streets lined with mature trees

decrease sales time and support stronger values in the market.

D3. Thermal comfort, cooling and pollution

Australian research shows dense tree planting helps to

enhance thermal comfort by reducing heat stress

Air pollution control

All trees act as air filters. Size and variety matter.

Noise abatement

Trees and shrubs help to

mask noise through the

rustling of leaves, the

movement of branches

and the sounds of birds,

insects and other animals.

They also contribute to

reducing noise through

reflection, deflection and

absorption. Foliage is the

most efficient part of a

tree for scattering sound

and large leaves are more

effective than small.

Nature conservation and habitat connectivity

Trees act as bridges, maintaining connectivity for species

through the city. Some are keystone species critical for the

survival of other species including invertebrates, lichens and

fungi, providing the basis of a healthy food chain that

benefits birds and mammals.

Sustainable urban drainage

Trees can contribute to reducing stormwater run-off. Their canopies

intercept / hold rain which can evaporate and gradually released into the

soil. Tree soil stores water and the larger the tree and its canopy, the

greater the impact.

Green Infrastructure

Agenda

I. The Challenge & Policy

II. Benefits of Green Infrastructure

& Street Trees

III. Tree Species Selection

Take an Holistic View

Inclusion or retention of trees is a means to an end, rather than as an end

in itself. Trees / green infrastructure play a critical role in helping meet

residents, businesses and other users needs.

When considering the aspirations for a neighbourhood, a street or a

single site, the questions should always be asked: how can trees support

the vision for this place? How can trees provide solutions to the issues

identified?

Tree Species Selection for Green Infrastructure : A guide for specifiers

Andrew Hirons et al TDAG

http://www.tdag.org.uk/species-selection-for-green-infrastructure.html

Fundamentals of tree establishment: Appropriate tree

species selection does not guarantee tree establishment !