When the Crime Scene Is the Road: Forensic Geoscience Indicators Applied to Road Infrastructure and Urban Greening

Pier Barone,Rosa Di Maggio,Luca Salvati,Carlotta Ferrara

doi:10.3390/geosciences6040050

Pier Barone, Rosa Di Maggio + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences6040050

Copy DOI

Abstract

Common to most cities with tree-lined roads, streets, and sidewalks is damage to paved surfaces caused by the growth of roots over time. Sub-surface root growth creates potential hazards for people driving motor vehicles and pedestrian traffic. In large urban centers like Rome (Italy), roads are vital infrastructure ensuring the mobility of citizens, commercial goods, and information. This infrastructure can become a crime scene when serious injuries or deaths result from the poor monitoring and management of urban trees. Sustainable management of road infrastructure and the associated urban greening is supported by a forensic geoscientific approach. In particular, the use of the GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) technique allows (i) to control and detect anomalies in the root architecture beneath asphalt in a non-destructive way; and (ii) to plan actions to repair and avoid the possibility of further catastrophic scenarios and need for forensic investigations.

Highlights

In many urban areas, trees are commonly grown in paved areas along streets in isolation from other green spaces such as parks and riparian corridors
Trees and other plants face a significant challenge because paved surfaces, such as asphalt, are hot environments with the absence of evaporative cooling resulting in high sub-surface temperatures
Safety.IfIfmore moreeffort effortisisplaced placed into monitoring extent urban tree root structures, growth, and resulting damage, the numbers of deaths and injuries of urban tree root structures, growth, and resulting damage, the numbers of deaths and injuries related to this problem will quickly decrease

Summary

Introduction

Trees are commonly grown in paved areas along streets in isolation from other green spaces such as parks and riparian corridors. Trees and other plants face a significant challenge because paved surfaces, such as asphalt, are hot environments with the absence of evaporative cooling resulting in high sub-surface temperatures. Planted areas reduce storm water drainage problems, reduce the detrimental effects of wind and noise, enhance human comfort by providing heat-reducing shade [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9], and provide habitat for a variety of insects, birds, and mammals. An aspect of urban trees that has not been examined is the relationship between tree shade and pavement performance. Performance relates to the ability of pavement to maintain its design standards and intended functional and structural condition [10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion