design elements - San Jacinto Texas Historic District

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LA IN LI CI AM
Design landscape planting materials, beds, and vegetation
for multiple benefi ts.
Conventional landscaping tends to serve a
single purpose: to provide aesthetic amenities
to the roadside. Landscapes, however, can
and should be planned and designed to serve
multiple purposes including aesthetics, a
sense of place, stormwater management, and
shading. Landscaped areas that break up large
areas of paved surfaces and provide cooling
shade can help reduce the heat island eff ect
in communities and along roadways. If the
areas are not within two miles of an airport,
landscaping can also provide wildlife habitat
that may include nesting sites, food, cover,
and shelter for wading birds, songbirds,
mammals, and other animals.
82 │ BEST PRACTICES
Landscape beds designed to capture rainwater runoff from rooftops.
Parking lot bioswales intercept runoff and trees will provide shading.
Trellises and other vertical structures can provide green screens.
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