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Originally Posted by Via Chicago
its a complex question. many west and south side neighborhoods of Chicago were wealthy when they were developed in the late 19th century. id imagine (and looking at old photographs would probably bear this out) that they had lush tree cover (both new plantings as well as legacy old growth trees). the issue is these neighborhoods fell into disinvestment and poverty in the mid-late 20th century and much of this treecover was lost, due to disease/age/weather. it clearly has not been replenished at rates that would make a significant impact.
other areas like Pilsen or Chinatown never had significant tree cover (or traditional parkways/lawns) and as a result those more industrial communities are still very barren from a green standpoint. and the heat island impact is especially noticeable in the summer compared to other areas. the city has only very recently started new plantings in that area.
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Thanks for the info!
First a point of clarification for myself, you and Dan have both been using the word 'parkway'. I assume you are meaning the space between the sidewalk and the curb??
In Toronto we call that the boulevard.
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Toronto plants boulevards automatically, assuming they are green and not paved.
Toronto's front-lawn program is generally elective; but has been shifting to negative-option.
So the City looks at aerial photos for areas that are under-treed, then sends out staff to single out properties suitable for a tree.
They then sent a letter to the homeowner saying 'if you don't object by such and such a date, we will plant this type of tree on your front lawn'.
The backyard program is 100% elective, the land owners has to pursue it.
Commercial private property must plant trees during redevelopment; and in the past existing commercial property has been ignored.
Toronto is looking at negative option commercial property planting as well.
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it does but it can take up to 3 years to get a tree. i actually went out and bought trees for my parkway and planted them myself (even though this is technically illegal, its kind of the least of the cities problems).
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Wow, Toronto is generally six months, trees are selected for planting in fall, then planted in spring; or selected in spring for fall.
If you want a species that is a spring-only transplant (nut-bearing species tend to do much better w/spring transplants), then that might be up to 12 months.