ABSTRACT
City parks and planted squares are small pauses in the breathless narrative of traffic and work. Victoria Square is a small urban square in the parish of Clifton in the City of Bristol, England. As a space to visit, walk through, and view, it is now dominated by a mixed population of trees. Many of the houses have been converted into flats, and the villas into business premises. The square is divided across one diagonal axis by a paved path which is a busy thoroughfare for pedestrians going to and from work, shopping and recreation venues. The trees have provided an ongoing material and symbolic presence in the square since they were first planted. Their growth has caused much controversy, but at the same time they have provided a thread running through the history of the square as it fell into dereliction and was eventually transferred to the ownership and upkeep of the civic authorities.
