The Victorian Tree Legacy – How did it happen?
Many of our older cities are enjoying the benefit of large, old canopy volume trees – a wonderful legacy from a bygone era which is almost impossible to put a monetary value on. In terms of ecosystem benefit, these trees form the living green backbone of carbon sequestration, stormwater interception, urban cooling in our urban […]
Designing for Retail
There have been a number of publications reflecting the uplift that urban trees and high-quality landscape can achieve when it comes to areas specifically weighted toward retail and commercial use. The work that Treeconomics have undertaken with is a case in point. The growth of research which tries to quantify and attribute a qualitative value […]
Trees: “Frontline” Bulwark in Combatting Air Pollution
What single thing can you incorporate into a city which increases in value every year it exists? What item will remind you of seasons, enhance property value, provide shade, urban cooling and stormwater attenuation whilst simultaneously boosting retail sales, improve social cohesion and reduce crime? Well as it happens, this same entity – (it can […]
Maximising Land Value through SuDS
As we all are aware, land is a limited commodity – it’s not being made anymore. Pressure on housing means that as economies we need to provide homes for our increasing population, and there is a strong case for resisting urban sprawl into our green fields. Land values have reflected these challenges, with a direct […]
Cool Towns Meet Up
It is a great pleasure that GreenBlue Urban have become partners on a second successful EU Interreg program in the 2Seas area – “Cool Towns”. This project will be specifically focused on developing tools and capacity building resources to ensure that towns and cities across the 2Seas area and beyond will be able to design, […]
It’s a HAPPY NEW YEAR for Welsh SUDs!
Following a series of consultations on Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS), Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 comes into force in Wales this new year. From January 7th 2019, all proposed new developments with 1 house or more in Wales are required to include SuDS and must comply with the Welsh […]
Protecting our Trees for the Long Term
Below we detail the steps urban landscape professionals and residents alike should take in preserving and protecting prized trees of all size and age that find themselves in danger from the consequences of the urban environment. Unlike most things that depreciate with age, trees increase in value over time and provide more benefits as they mature, […]
A More Sustainable Option Under Ground
Most people understand the problems associated with single-use plastics, with many companies around the world making every effort to ensure that their value chain is more ethical and sustainable. We have a collective responsibility to the environment and to future generations to ensure that our business practices now are setting a gold standard for the […]
Enhancing Urban Tree Drought Tolerance
Through Tree Planting Pit Design The long hot summer of 2018 is still very much on our minds, and at GreenBlue Urban we have been studying the implications of such weather patterns on urban trees. What trees did well? Which failed to survive and reach the autumn – and why? Very useful work has already […]
Encouraging Increase in Retail Sales with Urban Trees
Over the years, research institutes around the world have studied the importance of having trees in shopping areas, proving that the presence of healthy mature trees positively influences shopping behavior. One study done by the University of Washington examined the connection between trees and people’s response to shopping locations. The research found that shoppers respond […]