Street Trees Obscure Sydney's Architectural Gems
Sydney Town Hall: northern aspect In streetscaping a tree-line is generally thought be an absolute good, and the more trees the better. To a large extent trees do complement streets and buildings, enhancing their aesthetic and environmental amenity. They can also shade pedestrians from heat and the elements while absorbing gaseous pollutants. City of Sydney Council’s Street Tree Master Plan 2011 sets out the benefits of street trees in more detail. But sometimes there are competing interests. Trees that threaten the safety of people, structures or vehicles should of course be scaled back or uprooted. And sometimes they detract from the built environment. Appreciating fine architecture takes a sweeping glance at a building’s whole symmetry, balance, geometry and sense of proportion, which isn’t possible through a screen of dense foliage. There are numerous cases of this in Sydney CBD. Despite some regrettable demolitions over the decades, Sydney still boasts some clas...