Paper

The In-Betweens: New Ecologies in Urban Fringe Spaces Along Street Corridors

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Abstract

This essay examines design opportunities at the intersection of impervious surfaces, urban heat, and ecologies in street corridors of underprivileged neighborhoods, focusing on the often-neglected spaces between public streets and private properties. These areas, typically deserted in underserved communities, present untapped potential for green infrastructures and increased tree canopy coverage. By reinterpreting these spaces with site-specific, asset-based approaches, they can support green infrastructures and urban forestry as a method of urban reclamation and climate resilience. Transforming such spaces into productive green zones faces social, environmental, and financial challenges, yet it fosters community well-being, biodiversity, and mitigates urban heat. Tree planting has always been as much about humans as trees emphasizing the entanglements between urban trees and the social, cultural, and political life of cities (Dümpelmann 2019). The concept of “making odkin” underscores the need for creative collaboration in this transformation (Haraway 2016). Likewise, reclaiming public life requires understanding local histories and connection to space (Kemmis 1990). The Ohio State University’s Trees for All People program exemplifies this by developing socio-environmental justice strategies in Midwestern underserved areas through community engagement, demographic analysis, spatial assessments, and design. By revitalizing these overlooked interfaces where trees have died or been paved over, this initiative transforms urban spaces into vital green corridors, offering shade and ecological benefits to both private and public realms, ultimately fostering community resilience and improved quality of life. 

Dümpelmann, S.; 2019; Seeing Trees. A History of Street Trees in New York City and Berlin. Yale University Press

 

Haraway, D. J.; 2016. Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University Press.

 

Kemmis, D.; 1990. Community and the Politics of Place. University of Oklahoma Press

Keywords: street corridors, equity, urban forestry, community resilience

How to Cite:

Meijerink, P., (2025) “The In-Betweens: New Ecologies in Urban Fringe Spaces Along Street Corridors”, Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning 8(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/fabos.2444