Matthew Brown has restored three historic houses in Raleigh, and has assisted with the restoration of many others. He has financed renovation of six houses for affordable housing.
Matthew spoke to City Council on May 13, 2025:
Trees are wonderful amenities for a city. They clean our air, they cool the atmosphere, they are beautiful, they provide shade, habitat for birds and other urban wildlife. Trees are among the things people love most about Raleigh. A family just moved to my neighborhood from Houston because Raleigh has more trees, and Houston has more pavement.
Studies show that areas with fewer trees and more pavement have hotter and more polluted air than areas with trees. And studies show that downtowns and low-income areas tend to have fewer trees than wealthier areas. This is true in Raleigh as well.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the City was continually planting trees.
But now it seems that we are cutting down more trees than we plant, especially in downtown and lower-income areas.
When developers knock down a house, they usually cut down all the trees as well. The new houses, especially the townhouses, tend to have mostly concrete front yards instead of trees.
Soon we will be cutting down hundreds of big trees along New Bern Avenue for the bus rapid transit.
And now I hear that there is a move to cut down trees in Nash Square to build a playground. That would be tragic.
Nash Square has so many wonderful specimen trees; it is downtown’s arboretum. It is also downtown’s lung, cleaning and cooling the air. You step into that four-acre paradise, and you feel ten degrees cooler.
Meanwhile, there are over 100 acres of surface parking in the downtown area. Let’s put the playground on some of that.
Or let’s build the playground in Moore Square. The City already cut down most of the trees in Moore Square 7 or 8 years ago. They were supposed to build a playground then.
The park planners showed us schematics with lots of amenities, but most never got installed. We basically paid $13 million to cut down the trees and put in a lot of pavement. Some people call it Frying Pan Park because it is a hot open area.
Moore Square would be a great place for a playground. The Children’s Museum is just across the street. It is closer to more residential areas than Nash Square. A large mixed income development is about to be built across the street.
Please save the trees in Nash Square and everywhere in Raleigh.
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