Next time you’re out and about in your neighbourhood, take a look around at all of the forgotten spaces, bits of fallow dirt and other abandoned spots that populate the larger cityscape.
This subject area is interesting to me, there's so much scope for regenerating brownfield sites. Everyone wants the nice land, but there's a much greater difference to be made with developing these degraded plots.
Do these companies also test the soil for toxicity/contaminants before beginning? Personally I've noticed small pieces of asbestos in my own back garden and allotment from less than scrupulous disposal habits from years gone by.
Could you list a few of the plants and trees that these companies have decided are suitable candidates? I've actually got a substack article coming out on a similar topic, it would be interesting to see the overlap!
Yes, the soil and possible contaminants is a huge issue. D.I.R.T. Studio, I know in particular, does a lot of regeneration and remediation of industrial sites. And, just from personal experience, we see many landscapes where soil has been dumped as fill. It's often mixed with small shreds of plastic, invasive plant species and chemicals. It will certainly become a larger issue as time goes on and testing is always a good place to start.
Many of these projects involve a wide range of plant material, many hundreds of species over lots of site specific micro climates. The ethos seems to be one of, planting a diverse range of plants that match the conditions (and some on the fringes) and adapting as novel plant communities form over time.
There's so much room for experimentation and work with in these areas, I'm so excited to see where this kind of planting design goes. I can't wait to see your article.
This subject area is interesting to me, there's so much scope for regenerating brownfield sites. Everyone wants the nice land, but there's a much greater difference to be made with developing these degraded plots.
Do these companies also test the soil for toxicity/contaminants before beginning? Personally I've noticed small pieces of asbestos in my own back garden and allotment from less than scrupulous disposal habits from years gone by.
Could you list a few of the plants and trees that these companies have decided are suitable candidates? I've actually got a substack article coming out on a similar topic, it would be interesting to see the overlap!
Yes, the soil and possible contaminants is a huge issue. D.I.R.T. Studio, I know in particular, does a lot of regeneration and remediation of industrial sites. And, just from personal experience, we see many landscapes where soil has been dumped as fill. It's often mixed with small shreds of plastic, invasive plant species and chemicals. It will certainly become a larger issue as time goes on and testing is always a good place to start.
Many of these projects involve a wide range of plant material, many hundreds of species over lots of site specific micro climates. The ethos seems to be one of, planting a diverse range of plants that match the conditions (and some on the fringes) and adapting as novel plant communities form over time.
There's so much room for experimentation and work with in these areas, I'm so excited to see where this kind of planting design goes. I can't wait to see your article.