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In-Seattle%2C-Preserving-Trees-while-Increasing-Housing-Supply-is-a-Climate-Solution.md

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<br>The Boulders development, integrated in 2006 in Seattle's Green Lake area, features a mature tree along with a waterfall. The developer also included fully grown trees salvaged from other advancements - positioning them tactically to add texture and cooling to the landscaping. Parker Miles Blohm/KNKX conceal caption<br>
<br>Climate modification shapes where and how we live. That's why NPR is [devoting](https://woynirealtor.com) a week to stories about services for structure and living on a hotter planet.<br>
<br>SEATTLE - Across the U.S., cities are struggling to [stabilize](https://atworldproperties.co.za) the need for more housing with the requirement to maintain and grow trees that assist resolve the impacts of climate modification.<br>
<br>Trees offer cooling shade that can conserve lives. They absorb carbon pollution from the air and lower stormwater runoff and the danger of flooding. Yet many builders view them as an obstacle to quickly and efficiently setting up housing.<br>
<br>This stress in between development and tree preservation is at a tipping point in Seattle, where a brand-new state law is needing more housing density however not more trees.<br>
<br>One option is to discover ways to construct density with trees. The Bryant Heights advancement in northeast Seattle is an example of this. It's an extra-large city block that features a mix of modern apartments, town homes, single-family homes and retail. Architects Ray and Mary Johnston dealt with the developer to place 86 housing systems where as soon as there were 4. They likewise conserved trees.<br>
<br>Architects Mary and Ray Johnston conserved more than 30 trees in the Bryant Heights development they worked on. Parker Miles Blohm/KNKX conceal caption<br>
<br>"The first question is never, how can we eliminate that tree," explains Mary Johnston, "however how can we save that tree and construct something unique around it." She indicates a row of town homes nestled into two groves of fully grown trees that remained in place before construction started in 2017. Some grow simple feet from the new structures.<br>
<br>The Johnstons protected more than 30 trees at Bryant Heights, from Douglas firs and cedars to oak trees and Japanese maples.<br>
<br>One of Ray Johnston's favorites is a deodar cedar that's more than 100 feet tall. The tree stands at the center of a group of apartment. "It most likely has a canopy that is close to over 40 feet in diameter," he notes.<br>
<br>This cedar cools the close-by buildings with the shade from its canopy. It filters carbon emissions and other contamination from the air and acts as an event point for locals. "So it's like another homeowner, actually - it's like their next-door neighbor," Mary Johnston states.<br>
<br>Preserving this tree required some extra negotiations with the city, according to the Johnstons. They had to prove their brand-new building and construction would not hurt it. They had to accept use concrete that is permeable for the walkways underneath the tree to enable water to leak down to the tree's roots.<br>
<br>The developer could have easily chosen to take this tree out, together with another one nearby, to fit another row of town houses down the middle of the block. "But it never pertained to that since the designer was informed that method," Ray Johnston says.<br>
<br>Preserving some trees in Bryant Heights needed additional settlements with the city of Seattle. Special concrete that is porous was used for the pathways beneath specific trees, allowing water to permeate down to the trees' roots. Parker Miles Blohm/KNKX hide caption<br>
<br>Housing pushes trees out<br>
<br>Seattle, like many cities, is in the throes of a housing crunch, with pressure to include thousands of brand-new homes every year and increase density. Single-family zoning is no longer permitted
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