That Tree on the Corner May Be Worth More Than Your House

I like trees. I have one tattooed on my left forearm. I've planted three in our small Oakland lot. I love to hike and run among them. I love to gaze up at them and rest beneath them. I even write about them. Here's another entry in the tree file, this time for Next City, a blog and publication devoted to "connecting cities and informing the people working to improve them." It's about a free online program called i-Tree, developed by the US Forest Service in partnership with Davey Tree Company, which allows cities to calculate the environmental -- and financial -- benefits provided by street trees and their urban forest at large. The program has been a big hit in cities from Pittsburgh to New York, as well as outside the US, as I outline in this story, my first for Next City.