01623136

Component

Accessible, safe, and comfortable sidewalks provide a myriad of benefits such as increased pedestrian safety (1), increased physical activity, reduced trips made by cars (2), and substantial increases in property values (3). This is especially true within the City of Atlanta, where many areas are characterized as being walkable due to their relatively high densities, mixed land uses, and transit access. Trees are also an essential part of our cities. Among their many benefits, trees improve air quality and environmental aesthetics, and they cool cities, creating a more comfortable walking environment (6), and they increase property values (4). Many cities are characterized as much by their urban tree canopies as their architecture and culture. For instance, Atlanta is known as the “City in the Forest” for its extensive tree coverage. Sidewalks and street trees both play important roles in contributing to the success of cities. However, in Atlanta,as in many cities, both are in a state of decline. Good management policies, including proper design and maintenance,are key to the longevity of sidewalk infrastructure and urban trees. Atlanta and many cities need a greater understanding of best practices in street tree and sidewalk policies, design, and maintenance and how such practices can be institutionalized. This research collects and analyzes best practices in sidewalk and street tree design and policy throughout the US, and makes recommendations as to how Atlanta and other cities can improve their development codes, maintenance strategies, and the design of streetscapes and parking lots.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AFB40 Standing Committee on Landscape and Environmental Design.

01618707

17-04804

English

21p

2017

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; Photos; References; Tables

Best practices; Large cities; Medium sized cities; Ordinances; Sidewalks; Streetscape; Trees

Atlanta (Georgia); United States

Design; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-04804

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 11:50AM