Alley divides New Urbanist from Urban Forest

The differing sensibilities of urban residents could not be more apparent than those on both sides of this alley. On one side are the New Urbanists that favor density over trees. They built two-story backyard rental houses (granny flats) wider than their primary Prairie Style home. They removed all the old growth pecan trees in place in the process. Further, to eradicate the naturally seeded trumpet vines that profusely propagated, these property owners sprayed the entire back fence line with RoundUp. One of the homeowners even installed a strip of crushed concrete along the alley to impede any growth of wild flowers or weeds. To avoid any contact with an urban alley, these New Urbanists all elected to put their garbage bins out in front of their house once a week rather than have their trash picked up in the alley as the original 1905 development intended. On the other side of the alley, the neighbors treat the alley as a transition from the layers of trees in their backyards to this service street. On this side, the blooming crape myrtles, flowering orange trumpet vines, bamboo, overhanging cedar trees, and arching pecan trees, soften an urban edge and make it a wonderful hunting ground for birds, butterflies, and bees. On one side of the alley is the disciplined, dispassionate approach of property owners desiring urban density and suburban sterility, and on the other side are neighbors who prefer the natural fecundity and messy edge of an urban forest.
#GrannyFlats #BackyardRentalHouses #Density #UrbanForest #NewUrbanist #SuburbanSterility #Alley #TrumpetVine #Bamboo #CedarTree #PecanTree #Pollinate #Habitat #Environment #Neighborhood #City #Dallas #HistoricDistrict #Neighbors #PathToTrinityGrove #Birds #Butterflies #Bees #Natural #Edge #UrbanEdge #CrapeMyrtles #Fecundity #Architect #Architecture