More about My Root Heave Research
Sidewalk root heave is a design problem.
It's easy to blame the tree for lifting the sidewalk, but after taking a long, hard look at this problem I realized that the cause is simple: big trees grow big roots, and those roots usually lift the pavement over time.
Some species grow more of their roots near the surface, like Bigleaf Maple, but every tree is surface rooting to some degree. So, I think it's time to reframe the design problem.
When a mature tree is lifting the sidewalk we can't just think about putting the right tree in the right spot. The only big mature trees we will ever have in our lifetimes are already here. We need to treat sidewalks as sites to design and build the right sidewalks for the trees we've got.