The flat-bottom truck carrying the bricks is parked on the sidewalk, and a construction worker motions you out into the street. Beyond the truck, another worker is operating a large vibrating compactor that tamps the soil for a new sidewalk. Glancing ahead, you decide to risk jay-walking to the other side of the street in hopes of catching a little shade in the shadow of the buildings. Fifty years have not improved the urban forest. As the scene on K Street shows, the pressures of the city environment affect almost every facet of tree health.
City streets have less soil with the proper drainage and structure for support of tree roots.
Wider roadways, bigger building sites, street signs, light poles and fire hydrants are all necessary additions to the cityscape, but they compete with trees for valuable space. More urban trees are dying, and fewer replacement trees are being planted. Tight city budgets have reduced the planning and maintenance force required to help overcome the problems created by these obstacles. In short, within a 50-year span, our urban forests have gone from being the picture of health to the point where we almost expect these trees to decline and live short lives. It is time to make some changes in the design and construction of our cities.