The car was invented 135 years ago , and all that time we have needed a position to put them when we campaign into the grocery store or the bank . Trouble is , we reveal that early on that parking lots are inherently ugly , grayish , dim , depressing , intemperate , marked-up , blazing - hot - in - summer , bitterly - moth-eaten - in winter , someone - sucking , idle words - swept plain stitch of human misery . To palliate this , some fourth dimension ago , hoi polloi commence embed trees in them .
Was this a good idea ? Sure . Why not ? Everyone have sex trees . They ’re wonderful . They ’re pretty to look at , and , among a zillion other things , they shade our car , clean our air and water system , mitigate stormwater runoff , provide for wildlife , and sequester carbon . Socially , they support our well - being , make a feeling of residential area , and , believe it or not , they even make us behave considerably . That ’s the power they have , and all because they connect us urbanized , dwelling house - to - Starbuck’s - to - office - and - back - again hominids , albeit briefly , to our long - ago , natural , better self .
A late report conducted by the University of Chicago found that city dwellers with just ten tree on their block report a timber of living $ 10,000 rich and seven years younger than those without tree on their block . ( Like the Lorax ’s neighbors had star upon thars ) . If ten trees along a street can do that , then why not put them in parking stack ? We should . trouble is we ’ve been doing it dumb , almost always , since the beginning .
Not even a prayer this bed will ever see any success. So why even bother?
This has been the trees in parking lot instruction manual has bet forever and a day :
Not even a prayer this bed will ever see any success . So why even bother ?
Over many years of diligently following these practices , the outcome are remarkably consistent :
I want to say someone should learn truck driver how to guide , but I suspect they are not to blame . truck must sail parking lots . That ’s a given . So why are n’t parking scores designed so trucks can make their round ?
I apologize for the dark and cynical tone of voice here , but seeing this over and over again is drive me nuts ! Each of the millions of times this cycle has been reprize , all the time , money , and try invested give way nary any of the many potential benefits of trees . Just as bad , maybe even worse , in this time when it is more and more significant for all homeowners and landholder to raise their horticultural biz for the sake of ourselves and our planet , the distinctive somebody ’s daily exposure to cultivated plants are these abyssal , failing , unworthy , parking great deal planting , brought to them , supposedly , by hoi polloi who should know and do well . What subject matter does that send ?
And this has been going on for the entirety of my longsighted , unknown , misstep of my 59 & 1/2 class biography .
My friend , Dr. Tom Kimmerer , from the University of Kentucky , heard me vocalize defeat over this at a late presentment , and , riffing on an onetime comedy turn by Dudley Moore and Peter Cooke , enunciate , “ Have we learned from our mistakes ? ” “ Yes , and we ’re repeating them just . ”
It ’s metre to get it together andstop the dumb !
I would propose we start by re - accessing what we really want from our parking fate plantings and pull to making them win . Do we want shade ? If so , without elision create much large planting beds and use species suitable for these sites . If that ’s not an option , forget tree and put up solar panels . They shade off just as well and are also quite clever with what they do with sunlight . Do we want biomass ? If so , plant these beds with locoweed , bamboo , suckering shrub like sumac , or other plants that will answer to groundwork traffic , truck , and other abuse by sending up young shoots . Or , take the sum entire square footage of fifty tiny seam and make one primal big one and plant a grove of suited trees .
Not even a prayer this bed will ever see any success. So why even bother?
A parking spate island bed with a right hazard of achiever . Large enough . Raised with expert soil . control for protection . sagely choose species .
Even though the landscaping in the foreground is abysmal and all but forces people to walk through it , the dedicated space in the desktop is in reality run and slightly attractive . Why not more of this ?
There are other resolution too . Some easy and cheap . Others more expensive and difficult . But solutions like these wo n’t see the light of 24-hour interval as long as people who do n’t have sex the staple of horticulture and tree farming are make the decisions . nurseryman , other generally sensible citizens who care , and , especially , certified , knowledgeable green industriousness professionals take to demand better . Go to council meetings or zone meetings and make your voice find out . Landscape designer and quality landscaping companies should refuse to do work they know is destined to fail , or at the very least , mislay the argument swing . It is in no one ’s interest group — from the developer ’s to the shopper’s — to continually induct in repeated failure . Especially when the benefits of doing it right are so great .
I want to say someone should teach truck drivers how to steer, but I suspect they are not to blame. Trucks must navigate parking lots. That’s a given. So why aren’t parking lots designed so trucks can make their turns?
A parking lot island bed with a good chance of success. Large enough. Raised with good soil. Curb for protection. Wisely chosen species.
Even though the landscaping in the foreground is abysmal and all but forces people to walk through it, the dedicated space in the background is actually functioning and somewhat attractive. Why not more of this?
