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Showing posts from December, 2013

Best of 2013 Books Roundup: Landscape, Environment & Design

Image: Never Built LA cover via Metropolis In lieu of our own Top 10 or Best of Books in the fields of landscape and environmental planning and design, we have gathered the fine lists that others have created to share with you here (arranged in alpha-order). 1. Architect's The Best Architecture and Design Books of 2013 2. Gizmodo's Best Books of 2013 3. Planetizen's 12th Annual List of the 10 Best Books in Urban Planning, Design and Development 4. The Dirt's (ASLA) Best Books of 2013 A lot of great books, right? Here's a tip for selecting the first ones to read (or to gift). Choose the books that are featured on at least two of the lists such as Never Built Los Angeles , by Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin , The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy , by Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley , and Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design , by Charles Montgomery . Image: The Th

Wild About: Squirrels

Wild About is a celebration of the flora and fauna commonly found in our cities. Instead of fact sheets, this space will showcase books, art, music, societies, and whimsical objects about urban-adaptable plants and animals.  If you would like to see your favorite urban-oriented plant or animal featured, please email us at info(at)localecology.org. Image: Eastern Gray Squirrel, William N. Beckon via Wikimedia Commons It is a toss up between the pigeon and the squirrel for the quintessential urban animal! (Read Wild About: Pigeons .) Earlier this month, Studio-X NYC cheekily posted on their blog, "OK, move over pigeons: it’s time talk about squirrels and the city!" The post referred to a new paper titled "The Urbanization of the Eastern Gray Squirrel in the United States" by historian Etienne Benson. PhD candidate Mikel Maria Delgado at UC Berkeley also reviewed Benson's article and provided squirrel resources such as Project Squirrel , a citi

Covering the trunk flare and zone of rapid taper

Roots emerge from the trunk/root flare and rapidly taper away from the trunk; this area of taper is known as the root plate or zone of rapid taper. I have seen area estimates of five to six feet or one to two meters around the trunk. Both the trunk flare and zone of root taper (ZRT) are critical to the stability and health of the tree. (Also important is the critical root zone/tree protection zone which extends beyond the ZRT and is calculated as the distance from the trunk equal to the dbh multiplied by 12 inches.) The trunk flare and ZRT of the two street trees on Prince Street, pictured above, have been covered with fake grass. Deep Root blogged about different strategies for protecting the ZRT in The Space Between the Pavement and the Tree . And, if you have access to Arboriculture & Urban Forestry , read the article, Effect of Pit Design and Soil Composition on Performance of Pyrus calleryana Street Trees, by Rahman, Stringer, and Ennos in the November 2013 issue of

Washington Square Park Ecology

Image: Washington Square Park looking north, courtesy of Washington Square Park Blog Our parent organization, Local Ecology, has partnered with Washington Square Park Blog to map the ecological assets of the 9.75-acre Washington Square Park. Today Washington Square Park Ecology went live on ioby .  Why we are doing this project At 9.75 acres, Washington Square Park is one of the largest green, open spaces in the Greenwich Village neighborhood.  While famous for the fountain and arch, the park has ecological assets that we feel should be highlighted more prominently.  Its trees are one asset.  The other is the buried creek and its associated marshland.  While we cannot restore the creek and the marsh, this project provides an opportunity to inform users and visitors not only about what they can see - the trees - but also about the park's historic ecology and its connection to a larger system of waterbodies in the neighborhood and the city. You can support the

Gift Guide: For the Local Ecologist

In keeping with the local in our name, this gift guide is New York-centric.  My apologies to our readers outside the city.  Please leave a comment below or on our Facebook page with your gift guide for the local ecologist where you live. Bausch & Lomb Hastings Triplet Pocket Magnifiers (from Forestry Suppliers) - Time to observe bark, buds, and twigs! AHeirloom Boro Board - I wouldn't mind serving local fruit and cheese on this board. Cuppow Canning Jar Drinking Lid - Transform that lonesome canning jar into a portable drinking glass for your field trips.  (I use the drinking lid and the BNTO is on my wish list.) Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, by Leslie Day - I own her Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City. Mapping Manhattan, by Becky Cooper (hat tip: Brain Pickings ) - Mental maps is a respected landscape architecture and planning analytical tool. Hurricane Sandy Bicycle Relief and Repair - Make a donation in your local eco

Nostalgic train and bus rides in December

On our way to see the spaceship on the Flatiron plaza on Sunday, we saw this historic subway train running on the M line.  I have since learned that the train we saw is the MTA's Nostalgia Special that will run on Sundays in December. Learn more: MTA to Offer Holiday Season Nostalgia Train & Bus Rides (H/T Justin Ferate Tours) Vintage Buses to Run on M42 Line for the Nostalgia Special in NYC MTA Brings Back 'Nostalgia' Train For Subway Commute (video) MTA Nostalgia Trains: Take a Ride Back in Time in NYC