Tree Space Design

A tree’s ability to reach their full height and canopy potential depends heavily on the amount of soil available for their root system. The typical street tree box is too small to support healthy tree growth, and therefore, trees planted in them tend to be short-lived since their needs quickly exceed the capacity of their space.

To address this issue, we convened a panel of experts to develop design recommendations that would provide street trees with adequate soil volume while maintaining sufficient space for pedestrian circulation.

The resulting award-winning report, Tree Space Design: Growing the Tree Out of the Box, includes a matrix of soil volume recommendations and root-friendly design methods intended for inclusion in design standards and use in individual projects. If followed, these spaces will not only yield larger, healthier trees, but help to minimize damage to paved surfaces.