TREE INVENTORY PONCE DE LEON AVENUE FROM PINHERO AVENUE TO SAGRADO CORAZON ST

WATCHING our surroundings with a critical eye, helps to to expand the perspective with an open focus. However, far away reader, in those countries with similar situations, it is necessary to step out of the office,
your backyard, away from trivial informative blogs, with a newspaper syndrome behavior, or teacher in a classroom committee like reasoning
for every action or intention.

I reiterate. One can do something relevant any where. Instead of collecting signatures
for el PETITION, I go out count the trees, observe what is going on and inform. Today I counted the trees on the left side (right side found in
entradas antiguas 06/16/09) of the avenue.

INVENTORY
PONCE DE LEON AVENUE
TO
ROOSEVELT AVENUE

Amacigos 97
Palms 11
Vomitel 3
Empty spaces 16
Ucar 1

ROOSEVELT AVE
TO
PRUDENCIO RIVERA ST

Tabebuias 18
Palms in concrete pots 15
Palms in sidewalk 28

PRUDENCIO RIVERA
TO
SAGRADO CORAZON ST.

Tabebuias 25
Palms 1
Ucar 1

Empty spaces 18

TOTALS: 97 Almacigos, 55 Palms, 43 Tabebuias, 2 Ucar, 3 Vomitel =200
Empty spaces: 34

Observations: Comparing the appearance of Almacigos and Tabebuias in size, the first look
healthier and brake the sidewalk, or lift it, easier than the second. The top is wider and provide
more shade. It is worth mentioning that Tabebuias are more exposed to sun/heat than the first,
through out the avenue, partially explaining their shitty looks, particularly as one moves closer
to el Canho Martin Penha, shortly after the Prudencio Rivera St. ALL these trees branches have been mutilated by machete or chainsaws, most are being strangled at the buttress by metalic square frames to keep the pavers in place.

28 of the Palms were planted recently by common scam artists in front of the Banco Popular
Fine Arts Cinemas in the sidewalk. The metalic grilles at the base are exactly
as the diameter of the installed palms. How would they grow with such barrier, who knows?

BONUS:
I visited the vertical garden (entradas antiguas, 06/04/09), on the premises of the Western Bank.
The Ripsalis like hanging plants are passsing away already. As one moves behind this vertical
monstrosity, the amount of chicken wire exposed is much higher and not even flat. A few ugly
Bromeliads, and Ferns are seen. It gives the impression that these fools have only six species
of plants to choose from. One has to see it to believe it. Caribe Landcapers whatever has the worst installation in my book now. But knowing what these people can accomplish given the opportunity and the big bucks, I am certain that something greater is in the making.

Last but not least the amount of Empty Spaces, is significant in statistics, it does not matter
how the trees were killed, mutilated or destroyed. The result is the same. But since no one
but yours truly makes inventories, how would you know when to substitute them? Or which
other species should be used with better aesthetics effect and resistance to these brutal conditions of heat, carbon monoxide, sun, no irrigation, surrounded by concrete/asphalt in five feet by four spaces? With illiterate private/public employees yielding machetes/chainsaws, cutting left and right branches in the wrong place?

I hope this simple post offer options to those worried about similar issues. One does not have to go to Harvard to create and develop solutions to problems that affect/annoy us. The inventory would be more scientific with two people working at once. One counts, one measures trunk diameter and height and width. There are more technological ways to do things, but in our
countries, those without snow, mostly heat, this could help improve the quality of our cities and
urban context. With a little vision and effort. Collecting signatures for dead trees, when there
are so many trees alive, ignored and destroyed daily, is a whimsical silly, attitude.

FIRST PARTIAL TREE INVENTORY IN THE METRO AREA OF SAN JUAN BETWEEN PINHERO AVENUE TO SAGRADO CORAZON ST.

IT WAS ABOUT TIME. For some time I have mentioned the need to have an inventory of trees to determine health, growth, mutilation, destruction, maintenance, elimination, diseases and substitution of those dead.

In some sophisticated cities in the world, not only there are people in government responsible for this type of inventory, tree wardens responsible for all the above, are also available, but also statistics regarding how much green space per person is available. In some is five, ten, fifteen acres of green areas per person in metro zones. We could
set a trend in the opposite direction, acres of asphalt/concrete per person!

Methodology, elementary and simple. A notebook and pencil. The distance covered is divided in segments between Pinhero Ave to
Roosevelt Ave, to start. Only trees and palms planted on the ground
or plastic, cement, square, round pots placed on sidewalks are counted.
Puerto Rico is the capital of architectural barriers. Imagine placing on
a six feet wide sidewalk, a tree feet wide pot! Pain in the ass to walk around these silly obstacles during rush hour.

Only the vegetation standing in the right side of the street were counted.Ponce de Leon Avenue, where this inventory took place is perhaps

the most important in the metro area. Also for contrast in the numbers, empty spaces where trees once stood.

NUMBERS BETWEEN
PINHERO AND ROOSEVELT AVE
Palms 28
Almacigos 86

BETWEN ROOSEVELT/PRUDENCIO RIVERA AVE.
Dk's 8
Tabebuias 39
Palms 30
Almond trees 2
Ficus benjamina 7

BETWEEN PRUDENCIO RIVERA AND
SAGRADO CORAZON ST.
Tabebuias 26
Dk's 5
Empty spaces 17

OBSERVATIONS

All the side walks show root damage, I am talking about a two miles, total distance. If you were
blind or in a wheel chair you would probably kill yourself considering the waves, cracks. All the trees show mutilation from grave to simple. Most are sick, two small for their age, showing in the amount of dirt/smoke in the bark, too close to electrical wires. How were these trees selected for the urban context? God knows.

Those empty spaces where trees once stood increase alarmingly as one moves toward Canho Martin Penha, an alienated community in Santurce. Also the worst looking trees. Coincidence?
I do not think so. The government still uses the mangrove to deposit used waters, without
any remorse.

However when adding the totals: 173 trees, 58 palm trees, 17 empty spaces, a tendency
of abusing palms is clearly demonstrated on the other side of the street recent construction,
and the Munhoz Rivera Avenue, running parallel to Ponce de Leon Ave.

In Puerto Rico there is a group of "arborists" I wonder where their credentials come from. What
kind of people are these? They always appear on printed media and tv, as authorities when some tree criminal mutilation makes the news, then disappear. I invite them, since that is their
little niche to do something meaningful besides the silly conversations on endemic trees and this and that. PLEASE! Count the damn trees, it only takes a couple of hours! Propose something or
take some action in your own hands. Stop the theories. Do something.

NOTE FOR PURISTS

The numbers are probably correct. Any margin of error will cover names of species. However,
since here nobody can tell between gymnasium and magnesium, not a big deal. The picture is
what remains.. And those token photos to the right of this blog and in upinthebreadfruittree.
Until next.

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