Trees are an essential part of urban landscaping. The presence of trees makes an urban view look well maintained and lush. The problem: scrawny little trees die easy in the city. Building and paving next to big established trees tends to croak them too. What is a municipaltiy to do?
I have been impressed by the cell phone towers disguised as trees. Recently I spotten two very passable redwoods, distinguishable as fake only because of their many dishes and gray boxes nestled among the needles, and the fact that they were in a desert. Why should these awesome artifices be reserved only for cell phone tower use? I propose that grand, fake trees be liberally placed in the urban landscape, achieving the density of a mature forest.
Benefits: 1: Shade 2: Increase psychic vigor of citizens. 3: Low maintenance costs. 4: Durability. 5: City themes: recreate the forest that once occupied the site of your city. Possibly in Jurrasic times? Or adopt a tree and with it a theme: Brookings, South Dakota - Baobab City USA!-- bungston, Feb 16 2009 Ah... yes. LampTree. LampTree [21 Quest, Feb 16 2009] Cell Phone Tower Redwood http://www.jointven...eecellsiteSmall.jpgYou're right... not bad. [paix120, Feb 19 2009] What in hell is "psychic vigor"? It sounds like something men wish women would have. ;-)-- blissmiss, Feb 16 2009 I'm bunning this only for the use of the word "spotten". The pre-conjunctive past-participle subjudicative doesn't get a lot of exposure.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 16 2009 [-] I'm boning this because of the word "artificial"... not that it's spelled wrong, it's just a stupid idea: you want "artificial" trees, make them man-designed: flourescent colours, precise fractal designs, etc.
Either that or holding tanks for rainwater, fed to real trees.-- FlyingToaster, Feb 16 2009 Bung, I seem to remember another idea, posted quite a while back, which involved disguising streetlamps as trees. This would seem to infringe upon that idea's sovereignty. I'll withhold my vote until I find it though, just to be sure. Halfbaked or not, it's a good idea!
Edit: Actually, I'm bunning this, because I just realized that this idea doesn't require messing with the lights, which was why I boned that idea. Sorry! +
Sub-Edit: Found the idea I was thinking of. That one involved real trees and running live wires through them... I still can't think of anything positive about that idea. Sorry for getting it mixed up with yours.-- 21 Quest, Feb 16 2009 Could the //psychic vigor// be a slightly higher oxygen density you wouldn't get around these trees ? Leaves aren't so much of a hassle (and add to the psychic oneness you feel with a tree), so why not bioengineer some real almost rootless trees that fit into a tubular base ?-- bigsleep, Feb 16 2009 Whatever "Psychic vigor" may be, I'm convinced that it requires real trees before the populace can see any increases in it. Indeed, I suspect that the claims of mental retardation being caused by microwave towers are at least in part due to their complicity with the replacement of real trees.
In fact, I'll be posting my OWN idea in contestation to yours.-- ye_river_xiv, Feb 16 2009 / The pre-conjunctive past-participle subjudicative doesn't get a lot of exposure./
This is a case of better lucky than good.-- bungston, Feb 18 2009 What's a microwave tower? That sounds like some sort of RTS game building.-- Smurfsahoy, Feb 18 2009 You forgot one more benefit (that may also be a detractor depending on the city) - birds can nest in them.
I wonder what the longevity and wear & tear is on these?-- paix120, Feb 19 2009 Aren't urban forests artificial, by definition? Anyway, real trees would give the squirrels and greenie rent-a-rabble somewhere to sleep.-- UnaBubba, Feb 19 2009 //pre-conjunctive past-participle subjudicative//
{BZZZT!} Bluff!-- pertinax, Feb 19 2009 Urban forestry is a great idea, which ought be pursued with all psychic and other vigour.
This isn't, and oughtn't [-]-- BunsenHoneydew, Feb 22 2009 halfbakery