On the left, greenery around the site of a Walmart in Wilmington is scarce. On the right, trees are abundant at a store location in Hilton Head. Whatâs the main difference? Deliberate city planning. (Port City Daily/Courtesy of City of Wilmington)
WILMINGTON â Monday morning, the City of Wilmington planning staff presented to council two similar yet drastically different aerial shots of Walmarts: one in Hilton Head, S.C., surrounded by a lush green canopy, and the other on Sigmon Road in Wilmington, surrounded by gray asphalt.
Both buildings were roughly the same in size and age. Yet while oneâs developer saved numerous trees, the other spared only a few.