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Buffers strips: sustainable parking lot design
Trees are located only in the buffer strips surrounding this parking lot. No trees are placed in islands. In fact, there are no islands in this design except tiny ones that house security lights. This keeps lights away from trees and ensures that trees will not have to be pruned to make way for the lights.
Locating trees in large buffer strips around the parking lot provides roots with adequate space to grow. Trees can grow to be large in this type of design, whereas they typically remain small in islands scattered about the lot. Trees in islands typically have a short life and have to be replaced. Their replacements often thrive less than the original trees.
