The 'Burbs

I admit it, I live in the suburbs, although suburbia is beginning to be just as fast-paced, hectic and crowded as the "city".  The suburban city I live in has many separate neighborhoods divided by slump stone walls.  The whole city isn't built that way since it grew up around oil wells and the beach.  Slowly the oil derricks are being removed and homes or parks or even wetlands are appearing. But here's the thing about my city: if you drive around much of it, all you see are slump stone walls and precious few trees.

Slump stone is that large beige brick that is ubiquitous here in California.  My backyard is completely surrounded by it. (I've tried to cover it with plants but my soil is toxic and few plants grow in it.)  In fact my whole little tract is surrounded by brick walls, faintly reminiscent of a prison.  There are exactly three streets that lead into and out of my tract.  This is very common  throughout the city.  It's easy to get lost in neighborhoods because there are few ways in and out. Convenient if the cops are after you, otherwise not so much.

In the beginning, the city planted trees along the sidewalks that roll past the walls but they are now tearing out all of the trees - their roots upend the concrete (can't have that!).  The spindly New Zealand Christmas tree behind my house hasn't grown since we moved here 19 years ago. True fact. I think it has water issues.  It's still there I presume because it hasn't damaged the sidewalk. The longer I live here the more sterile and plain the city becomes.  If you've been to or live in a neighborhood with mature trees I'm sure you notice how much better the streets look and how lush the neighborhood appears.

We do have an old downtown area with an eclectic mix of homes not hemmed in by slump stone.  Mature trees shade narrow streets that are a pleasure to walk or drive through. Homes in this area sell for quite a bit regardless of their age or condition. Can you guess why?  Exactly,  no brick walls and lots of trees.

One day you'll drive down a street lined, albeit sparsely, with trees and the next day you drive down the same street and all the trees are gone leaving naked walls and fresh stumps.  You hope that the trees will be replaced but that's not always the case.  And if they do replace the trees, they are small, thin and relatively leafless,  unlikely to grow to any height or breadth in my lifetime.

My next neighborhood will be positively thick with trees and slump stone will be only a memory.