How green is Miami? (Hialeah, Kendall: schools, incomes, living in)

[valicky]

Originally Posted by straight shooter

Valicky, all of those trees are on the right of way and not on the residents private property. They were planted by the county or developer. They were not planted by the residents. They probably have no trees on their lots, especially their backyards.

Nope, sorry. For the little bit of yard we have in my neighborhood, almost all the houses have trees, shrubs and plants. Google street view between 96th ST and 104th ST and 157th Ave and 162nd Ave. Go down any of the streets in that area and pan around. You'll see lots and lots of landscaping. Even in my old neighborhood which really had little green space to speak of, there is a lot of plantings. Can't street view there because it's inside the Hammocks and I guess the Google cameras didn't go into the actual neighborhoods. You can only see aerial shots. I have a neighbor to the left and one to the right and 3 backyards behind me that I can see. They all have trees and plantings, even the 3 of us that have pools. My one neighbor who is only renting is a landscaper and he's planted all sorts of plants and even a couple of trees. One is some weird tree from El Salvador, where he's from, that you get a spice from that's supposedly very expensive. Can't remember now what it is. I think that some houses have gone overboard with trees. I don't like when it gets too shady and we have very small properties. And some of those trees on the right of way are planted by the residents. We only got one tree each on the right of way. The one thing I'd like to see more of is flowers. Would be nice to add some color to the green.

[perry335654]

These are ideal shade trees(left) and dwarf my favorite Royal Palm tree you see here in Google Street view on 20th street and 22nd ave. They could plant 500,000 0f these shade trees(Don't know name) and plant 500,000 of the diverse palm trees grown here in South Florida to complete the Million Tree Plan.


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=20th+s...w87IgzZCbrtyAA

[popcorn247]

I think many people are afraid of damage to their house during hurricanes. This is a reason some people do not plant trees in their yard.

[Chelito23]

Originally Posted by straight shooter

Valicky, all of those trees are on the right of way and not on the residents private property. They were planted by the county or developer. They were not planted by the residents. They probably have no trees on their lots, especially their backyards.

Yes, you are correct. The only way people in Miami have trees is if the city planted them for them.

In a year or two people will have hat racked them as they will have become too big, too messy, too much of a storm hazard, lifting up pavement and who knows what other excuse. It is sad but true and seen throughout the county.

[valicky]

Ok, here you go since you guys want to believe that Hispanics hate plants. I live in a majorly Hispanic area and the majority of homes are nicely landscaped, even the right of ways. You'll see in some of these pictures the right of ways are done by the homeowners. Low income areas don't have much landscaping but if you drive through lower-middle and up most people do like to have trees and plants.

http://www.n00bsoft.com/imageupload/images/trees5.png (broken link)

http://www.n00bsoft.com/imageupload/images/trees.png (broken link)

http://www.n00bsoft.com/imageupload/images/tree10.png (broken link)

http://www.n00bsoft.com/imageupload/images/paint10.png (broken link)

http://www.n00bsoft.com/imageupload/images/paint6.png (broken link)

http://www.n00bsoft.com/imageupload/images/trees2.png (broken link)

http://www.n00bsoft.com/imageupload/images/trees3.png (broken link)

http://www.n00bsoft.com/imageupload/images/paint8.png (broken link)

[doom1001]

The landscaping is nice and typical of South Florida but it's a few trees mixed with a lot of palm trees,I think what people are talking about here are actual trees with tons of shade.If you compare this neighborhood to say a Buckhead in Atlanta or even Old Cutler rd it's not very green,nicely landscaped yes,but there's not a plethora of trees.

[WINTERFRONT]

Palm trees are not shade trees. People here hate shade trees as they home birds (poop) and their leaves are always falling down (filth)... at least that's what they say every time they feel forced to clean their cars and driveway. I'm all about shade trees. The darker the street, the better. It's always more pleasant to walk anyways.

Miamians though, like their bushes and palm trees, as shown in those pics.

[WINTERFRONT]

Some people, like me, are a bit afraid of planting trees. Like, I wanted to grow a tree last year on my backyard, but then found out that it might grow too big; not big as in forest big, but big enough to "invade" my neighbors backyard.

[valicky]

I was posting those pictures to disprove that Hispanics hate greenery and having green yards and prefer concrete as was posted earlier. They may not have huge shade trees, but it's for good reason. Most of us have tiny yards. A huge shade tree will cause major damage in a hurricane. Sure Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay will have bigger trees. For the most part, they have much bigger yards. Coconut Grove is an anomaly and they haven't experienced a big hurricane - yet. When they do, it's going to be massive devastation. The Crossings was a huge mess after Hurricane Andrew due to the large shade trees all over that neighborhood. Miami is just more suited for palm trees because of where it's situated. Doesn't make palm trees less worthy. You have to plant according to where you live and the size lot you live on. I think those yards above did a good job. Big, massive shade trees on small yards look silly and it's not a good idea. It's like having the big lion statues in front of a small yard. Doesn't fit. There are also a lot of pools here. You don't want those kinds of trees anywhere near a pool. Again, you have to landscape accordingly with the sort of yard you have.

[Chelito23]

Big trees look silly in small yards???? How about oversized houses on tiny lots with minimal landscaping look silly....

Your pics are nice, no one is saying all Hispanics are anti-landscaping. Rather in Miami, many Hispanic homes are devoid of shade trees and the few there that there are, get hatracked. As was the case with the Gumbo Limbo that was in the pics.

You are right about the "right tree, right place". You can plant large shade trees on swales or in a back yard. But still, most people won't, even when they have the space. I don't have any issues with palm trees, I just think there should be a mix of shade and palm trees.

You do realize that as in the rest of the country and world, people have large trees that *gasp* shade their home to keep it cooler and lower bills? You do realize that if you prune trees properly, they can provide shade and not be prone to blowing over on your property in a storm? I get the vibe you view all trees as liabilities and everyone who plants them as reckless, when that is not the case.

Miami has a disproportioante amount of people that are uninformed about certain issues and this is one of them. Palm trees do not meaningfully add to the desperately needed shade canopy which cleans the air of toxins, helps recharge groundwater and reduces flooding and cools the city. Until more people understand this, more neighborhoods will look like yours in West Kendall and the residents will be patting themselves on their backs thinking the city planted swale trees and their dwarf palms are all they need to do regarding "landscaping."

The environment is bigger than a token palm in the middle of a semi circle driveway and manicured shrubs. We actually need trees and there is a logical balance in urban, hurricane prone areas. Not everwhere has to look like Coconut Grove, but I think there is a happy medium between the Grove and Westchester, that is what should be promoted.