2026 Theses Master's

Strategies for Equitable Canopy Growth: Evaluating Soil Cell Technologies for New York City’s Urban Forest

Soytas, Talya

This thesis investigates the institutional landscape and technical challenges of street tree planting in New York City, New York, with regards to implementation of structural soil cell (SSC) technologies to support provision of better soil conditions for urban trees. With the NYC Urban Forest Plan of 2026 setting an ambitious tree canopy target of 30% by 2040, exploring the feasibility of this technology that could support a faster-growing, healthier canopy for all residents of the city is necessary. As supported by much of forestry science and landscape architecture literature, providing adequate volumes of uncompacted soil to urban trees is essential for establishing good growing conditions for the tree and supporting the canopy growth.

This thesis asks what technical and institutional barriers exist in such technology deployments in NYC and explores the existing installation projects for insights into what site conditions yield successful canopy establishment. Archival research, semi-structured interviews with agency and private practitioners that work with tree planting, and precedent studies on existing NYC SSC projects are the primary research methods. These methods are used to develop spatial prioritization criteria for future SSC projects, as well as policy recommendations for understanding their benefits and use potential, and leveraging existing city projects as pilots for deployment. This research concludes that structural soil cells can be used as an effective canopy justice tool in expanding the urban forest if accompanied by robust maintenance guidance and cross-agency collaboration.