Trees and Design Action Group

The Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) is a world first
TDAG brings together a pioneering group of individuals, professionals and organisations from wide ranging disciplines in both the public and private sectors to increase awareness of the role of trees in the built environment. Learn about what we do

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News

19/09 seminar recordings: How do we value trees & other green infrastructure in the urban environment?

On 19th September 2018, TDAG, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) hosted a joint workshop on valuing trees and other green infrastructure in the urban environment. This joint event provided an overview of the tools available, and the contexts in which they are most appropriate.

The event was chaired by Michael Barker (RTPI & TDAG), and presenters included:

Paul Cutler (Architect, Urban&Civic) - on developments and green infrastructure,
Prof Alister Scott (Northumbria University) - on green infrastructure in the revised National Planning Policy Framework,
Jeremy Barrell (Barrel Tree Consultancy) - on trees in the planning system,
Oliver Holzinger (UoB/CEEP) - on the Natural Capital Planning Tool,
Kenton Rogers (Treeconomics) - on i-Tree Eco,
Kate Shelden & Lizzie Pace (Trees for Cities) and Dr Kieron Doick (Forest Research) - on the Ealing I-Tree project,
Chris Neilan (Epping District Council) and Luke Fay (Treeworks) - on the Capital Asset Valuation Tool for Amenity Trees (CAVAT)
Therese Karger-Lerchel (Vivid Economics) - on the Green Space Valuation Toolkit,
Alison Smith (University of Oxford) - on tools for mapping and assessing green infrastructure,
Paul Nolan OBE (Mersey Forest) - on the GI-VAL Toolkit.

Audio recordings of the presentations and slide decks are available here. Please do not copy information from the presentations without the permission of the author, or reproduce this link without permission from TDAG.

Now available: Tree Species Selection for Green Infrastructure: A Guide for Specifiers

TDAG's new digital guide on tree species selection for green infrastructure is now available to download. The aim of this guide is to enable more appropriate tree selection for a wide range of urban planting sites.

The guide features some opening chapters capturing the latest evidence on how best to approach tree species selection to maximise the benefits bestowed on nearby communities while creating a more sustainable urban forest for future generations. Specific information on over 280 trees, illustrated with over 800 photographs, is included in the Tree Profiles section. A Tree Selector tool also helps identify candidate trees by a range of criteria. Click here to download a free copy of the guide and watch a video presentation of its content.

What are the basics that built environment practitioners need to know about urban air quality? Read our new guide!

It is recognised that air pollution is the biggest environmental risk to health. The design of our urban infrastructure – including green infrastructure – determines where air pollution is produced, and how it disperses. It is important to dispel myths and work with evidence in understanding air quality which built environment professionals should consider at all stages of urban design and development.

TDAG is pleased to have partnered with a distinguished group of academics* in producing some preliminary guidance – First Steps in Urban Air Quality: For Built Environment Practitioners, which is available from: http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/3069/

*First Steps in Urban Air Quality. A Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) Guidance Document. UK: London. Ferranti, E.J.S., MacKenzie, A.R., Ashworth K., and Hewitt C.N. 2017.

LTOA releases a new online resource with suggested wording for tree-related planning conditions

The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA)'s Planning Working Party has released a new resource compiling suggestions for the wording of robust planning conditions related to landscaping, arboricultural supervision, tree protection, tree planting, tree pruning, and woodland management. The conditions detailed were not written to be standard conditions as there are few standard situations where they could be directly cut and pasted. They are a starting point, to be altered and changed to fit specific circumstances as seen fit. The LTOA Planning Working Party intends to keep updating this resource based on its on-going discussions on real-life cases experienced by the officers involved, as well as on feedback submitted by users via the LTOA Forum or email.

The LTOA Planning Condition resource is available for free from: www.ltoa.org.uk/resources/planning-conditions.

Greater Lyon Tree Charter: a must-read!

The Greater Lyon Tree Charter is now available in English. The Charter was designed by the Greater Lyon Authority as a partnership-building tool to enhance the long-term management of trees across France's third largest city. It offers a set of common principles, together with a powerful rationale for action and a rich set of ideas for implementation for wide ranging audiences. So far, over 100 local and national stakeholders (including Greater Lyon's 59 boroughs, utility companies, the French equivalent of the UK's Landscape Institute, some tree nurseries, etc.) have signed the Charter, committing themselves to adhere to its Principles and to develop their own action plan for implementation. Both the approach and the recommendations featured in the Greater Lyon Tree Charter are highly relevant and directly applicable to the management of trees in towns and cities on this side of the Channel! Click here to download your copy.

...More News here!

Guides

Provides clear, robust information together with a decision-making tool to enable appropriate tree species selection for a wide range of urban planting sites and aid the diversification of the urban forest.

Compiles the basics built environment professionals need to know about urban air quality and how urban infrastructure design – including green infrastructure – determines where air pollution is produced, and how it disperses.

Explores the practical challenges and solutions to delivering trees in 21st century streets, civic spaces and surface car parks, detailing process, design and technical options.

Offers 12 principles of best practice for all those involved in local decision making to ensure that our 21st century towns and cities are underpinned by a 21st century approach to urban trees, for maximum economic, social and environmental returns.

Videos

We filmed international guest speakers Dr Kathleen Wolf and Björn Embrén at our June 2015 seminars.