City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/84984
Landscapers and Engineers Can Play Together in the Same Sandbox By Jim Banbury, Communication Manager, Engineering & Property Management, City of Charlotte, North Carolina Photos courtesy City of Charlotte By Jim Banbury, Communication Manager, Engineering & Property Management, City of Charlotte, North Carolina Photos courtesy City of Charlotte In Charlotte, North Carolina, landscaping is integrated into the design and review process for all capital projects. Among the challenges faced by many cities today is how to maintain, and even increase, tree canopy in a time when the percentage of tree cover in most cities is shrinking. Charlotte, NC, is not one of those places. The city enjoys a reputation of having a superb tree canopy, currently at 46% coverage. There has been a tree ordinance governing development in place since 1978 and strengthened in 2010. In addition, last year the Charlotte City Council approved a program intended to increase the tree canopy coverage to 50% by the year 2050. The "50x50" campaign is the latest evidence of Charlotte's commitment to its canopy. The seeds of a less evident, but no less important, tree commitment were planted 18 years ago and have now grown into a collaborative partnership between Landscape and Engineering disciplines. 20 The results have been extraordinary. In Charlotte, all transportation Capital Improvement Projects are planned, overseen and approved by both Landscape and Engineering departments, resulting in a 97%+ survival rate for CIP plantings. "This partnership happened partly by design and partly by circumstance," said John Lojko, Landscape Management Division Manager for the City of Charlotte. "Landscape planting and maintenance was part of the parks system until 1994 when it moved to the newly created Engineering & Property Management Department. Prior to the merger, landscaping was not viewed as an asset to construction. We played in two separate sandboxes and mostly stuck our tongues out at each other," said Lojko. "The City Engineer at the time, Clark Readling, saw the potential of integrating landscape design into project engineering. The two groups began meeting and listening to each other City Trees