I live in the suburbs (I know it sucks, but that’s just my current family situation.) and lately I’ve been trying to get outside more for my mental and physical health. The problem is, the suburbs are kind of shit for this. Obviously there’s all the car-centric infrastructure which makes walking more difficult and dangerous, but there’s not much I could conceivably do about that in any reasonable amount of time. However, the other big issue I’ve found, especially as it’s gotten so hot this summer, is there are barely any trees, and thus barely any shade anywhere along the sidewalks. Even the local park doesn’t have much shade aside from a small area in the corner. So it’s really unpleasant to walk anywhere. I get super sweaty even taking a leisurely walk on most days of the summer.
So I was thinking that maybe I could lobby the town to plant more trees such that most of the sidewalks are at least partially shady. I know there are some barriers to this like the tree roots cracking sidewalks and probably some NIMBYs who only view nature as being ornamental, and of course this would cost money to do. So it wouldn’t be a trivial thing, but I don’t think it’s entirely outside the realm of possibility either.
What do you think are some strategies I could use to make this happen? What sort of things do I need to do or account for? Obviously it’s going to be different depending on the town, but if there is any kind of general idea of how to go about this I would appreciate hearing it.
My area was hit by a derecho about 5 years back. We had 140+mph straight line winds for about an hour straight, and it devastated the area. A huge percentage of old growth trees got snapped like toothpicks. A couple years after, the city planted trees in all of the easement for a good portion of the residential area. Had to have been thousands of trees. I got 6 because I’m on a corner.
So my answer is have mother nature tear everything down then they may just do it.
Contact your neighbors on FB and Nextdoor. The more taxpayers you have on your side the better chance you have. One person shouting will be ignored. Fifty people at a city council meeting will get noticed.
Trees are expensive to maintain, in addition to cracking sidewalks and roads, they need water, the leaves need to be cleaned up, they need to be trimmed, and they pose a liability risk so need to be covered by insurance.
If your city has committee meetings that are open to the public, try to attend them if you can. If they allow for residents to ask questions or make requests, you can ask there.
Depending on the size of your city or town it might also have a parks and recreation department. If there is one, you can inquire there how you can go about adding more trees to enhance or expand green spaces.
Also, check any community boards you come across. There might be arborist groups that focus on stuff like this. Even if there isn’t one in your city, there might be one that focuses on the county or state (assuming you are in the US, if not, whatever larger land allotment applies to your country).
Basically it begins with networking. Try to find others that share the same desire for more trees and green spaces and the willingness to effect these positive changes, there is power in numbers.
Hope this helps :)
