The city’s trees and gardens are its oxygen, the residents’ good friends, generously affording them shade, coolness and beauty. Lots of beauty. As the climate crisis intensifies, trees are becoming increasingly essential in urban environments
A summer spent in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France when she was 16 left an indelible impression on Haifa’s mayor Dr. Einat Kalisch-Rotem – the essential connection between nature and the city. “The main street, Cours Mirabeau, is the most beautiful street I’ve ever seen,” she recounts, “a sprawling tree-lined boulevard, generous plane-tree canopies whose shade alleviates the summer heat, and beneath them cafes, chocolate shops, water fountains…”
Then a Haifa high-school student, Kalisch-Rotem went to Aix-en-Provence with her aunt to study French. On the way from their student dormitories to class they would stop to pick raspberries and strawberries. After classes they would walk along the boulevard again, sit in a café, or on a bench under the trees and eat a delicious sandwich prepared for them at the nearby kiosk.
The experience of that summer, when the sun did not blaze mercilessly on her head and perspiration did not flow, eventually became part of her urban vision. “It’s very hot in Aix-en-Provence,” she says, “but when foliage-rich trees form a canopy above and a light breeze dries the perspiration, it gives you a sense of pleasantness and calmness. You don’t look for the nearest air conditioner – you can rest, read, drink, take a nap. It’s nice. The soft light that infiltrates through the treetops has accompanied me ever since, and I miss it in Israel very much.
“On the other hand in winter those trees shed their leaves, their branches have a structure that blocks the winds so the people come to the boulevard to absorb the sun’s rays. I yearn for this physical experience of urban nature that creates a climatic microcosm, an experience of being in the heart of the bustling city with the trees protecting me, loving me and looking after my wellbeing.”
“In Israel,” says Kalisch-Rotem, “the methods for building streets kill the trees. They reach a height of up to two meters then die. The more the concrete grows, the more vegetation disappears.”
Haifa joins Paris agreement
Global warming and urban population density are harming the quality of life of residents of cities around the world, including in Israel. Israeli summers are already becoming longer and hotter, and the situation will only get worse.
In February, Haifa joined the global struggle against the climate crisis when the mayor signed a treaty parallel to the Paris Agreement that allows cities to join independently, thus setting themselves more ambitious goals than those set by their countries.
The climate treaty requires Haifa to reach zero net emissions targets by 2040 and maintain biodiversity. Thus far, over 500 cities and provinces around the world have signed the treaty, pledging to reach targets by 2050 at the latest.
With its signature, Haifa has joined C40 – the Cities Climate Leadership Group – which also includes Tel Aviv and the world’s largest cities, and has taken upon itself to fight climate change and promote sustainable urban planning. To date, the initiative connects 97 cities representing more than 700 million citizens and a quarter of the global economy.
“On environmental issues cities have the power to lead change, without waiting for it to come from the central government,” says Kalisch-Rotem. “Haifa is connected to the world and will conduct a broad and comprehensive policy, which will undoubtedly lead to other cities joining. The first visit I made upon taking office included a meeting with the mayor of Paris. The personal ties between us led Haifa to join this agreement.”
Signing the convention was an opening shot in an overall urban program for dealing with the climate crisis that the municipality is currently working on. One important component is foresting built-up urban space.
Trees in the city have many virtues – shady streets encourage outdoor activity throughout the year, with the health benefits of outdoor activity and reduction of air pollution due to reduced vehicle use. A shady area also reduces harmful exposure to the sun and heat load. While streets, squares and playgrounds can also be shaded by other means such as pergolas and shade nets, trees in themselves have many other advantages: they absorb carbon dioxide, emit oxygen into the atmosphere, provide habitats for a variety of animals and lower noise levels in the city.
In addition, studies have shown that the presence of trees improves our mood and reduces the effects of crime, vandalism, graffiti, littering and violence. And in terms of the city’s appearance, trees’ contribution is evident. They mask neglected facades, beautify a street and shape its identity
Tree husbandry
The city of Haifa is rich in trees in its open areas, especially in its wadis. But in the public space – streets, squares and playgrounds – there is room for improvement. In light of the mayor’s decision to promote urban forestry, the city’s Engineering Administration has begun formulating a multi-year forestry plan.
This will begin with a comprehensive tree survey in the coming months to map the stock of trees in the city – in its streets, parks and around public buildings – according to the following criteria: their location, gender, problems and failures in their maintenance (including their safety status), and the realization of their development potential.
The survey will enable better maintenance of existing tree stocks and to identify planting areas. In these areas, considerations of urban planning, existing infrastructures, and the possibility of actually implementing the program and maintaining the trees must be taken into account. An agronomist and municipal forestry official will participate in choosing the trees according to criteria such as the extent of the shade they provide, suitability to the local climate, resistance to winds, that they are not allergenic and whether they blend into Haifa’s natural landscape.
Our mission is to turn a bland street into one pleasant for walking along, and a neglected boulevard into an avenue inviting activities and meetings throughout the year. We would love to meet next year under the shade of a tree!
The technology that created flat traffic in Vigo has both vastly increased its residents’ quality of life and turned the city into a tourist attraction. Visitors simply go for a trip on the motorized walkways, and there are many of them all the time. Businesses in neighborhoods where pedestrian traffic was sparse are now seeing far more customers.
Over the next two years, even more impressive local networks are to be inaugurated by the renowned American architect Thom Mayne, notably the new Vigo-Urzaiz AVE Railway Station incorporating a series of rooftop urban parks. Escalators passing through the station will allow downtown pedestrians to easily reach a neighborhood about 30 meters above them. A journey that previously took 20-30 minutes will be shortened to less than five minutes.
Preserving the city’s pine trees
Trees, like people, constantly seek nourishment and water. But when trees live in a city near people, the potential exists for a collision between their habitat and root system – especially when the roots grow laterally – and infrastructure such as roads, sidewalks, lighting, water and sewage lines.
This has happened to the beautiful cypresses along Yitzhak and Hazvi Boulevards in the Carmel – the veteran pines have “injured” the asphalt, creating pits and bumps that became a safety hazard.
In the coming months the boulevards will undergo a development and restoration process, including rearranging the roads and sidewalks, installing benches, garbage disposal, street signage, landscaping and an irrigation system, upgrading the street lighting and creating a habitat for trees.
The development and restoration work is liable to damage the upper layer of soil where the pines’ main roots grow. This presented one of the biggest challenges in planning the renovation – to rebuild and preserve the trees’ growing spaces before the work begins.
So how do you maintain the buildings’ stability and resurface the roads and sidewalks without damaging the trees’ roots? That is, how do you “convince” them to grow deeper rather than laterally?
First, a hole is gently dug around the tree roots so as not to damage them. Then the lower layer of the pit is filled with large dolomite stones – hard stones that do not break down easily – and rich soil with compost is sprinkled between them.
The third stage involves dispersing dolomite gravel and placing a tube (a kind of snorkel) that allows the circulation of water and nutrients.
Finally, the hole is filled with soil then covered by a mesh, flexible concrete and a layer of asphalt. The roots are attracted to oxygen, water and minerals and we “persuade” them to grow deeper rather than laterally.
This way, we protect them and they protect us.
Signing the convention was an opening shot in an overall urban program for dealing with the climate crisis that the municipality is currently working on. One important component is foresting built-up urban space.
Trees in the city have many virtues – shady streets encourage outdoor activity throughout the year, with the health benefits of outdoor activity and reduction of air pollution due to reduced vehicle use. A shady area also reduces harmful exposure to the sun and heat load. While streets, squares and playgrounds can also be shaded by other means such as pergolas and shade nets, trees in themselves have many other advantages: they absorb carbon dioxide, emit oxygen into the atmosphere, provide habitats for a variety of animals and lower noise levels in the city.
In addition, studies have shown that the presence of trees improves our mood and reduces the effects of crime, vandalism, graffiti, littering and violence. And in terms of the city’s appearance, trees’ contribution is evident. They mask neglected facades, beautify a street and shape its identity
