A felled tree's worth has been well documented, but it has taken awhile for the silent contributions of living trees to be quantified.
"Forests usually produce cleaner water than developed land, so cities throughout the United States are defining watershed areas and acquiring forested land or conservation easements to protect their water supplies. New York City, for example, has maintained the largest, unfiltered water supply in the world by protecting its source high in the Catskill Mountains... 46 percent of the Washington, D.C., area is covered in trees, while 27 percent of the land is under impervious surfaces that accelerate runoff and boost temperatures during hot weather. The metro areas tree cover is estimated to kick in $49 million in air pollution services and $4.7 billion in stormwater retention benefits each year."
Thanks to regions_work listserv
Read the full story: The Economic Value of Living Trees
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Mass. votes against statewide minimum lot size for single-family homes
Over 2 million residents voted on Question 7; it was decided by just over 30,000 votes.
Maryland’s $15 billion bridge project gains key approval
The Maryland Transit Authority said the project will create over 60,000 jobs and add $23 billion to the local economy.
‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds
Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority