We want to thank Jim Skiera for contributing to the Center for Sustainable Communities blog and writing this post! Jim is the executive director at ISA. He practiced as a landscape architect for a decade and he is now an executive board member of i-Tree and founding chair of the Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition.

City and county management officials are constantly challenged to do more with less. Sometimes the solution to the challenges we face are staring right at us, but the most valuable assets we have at our disposal can be difficult to manage without the right tools.

Across the country, the trend in city design is transitioning from grey to green. Green spaces complement the grey to allow both to function at a higher level. Many years ago as the city arborist for Urbana, Illinois, I learned that healthy urban forests as an integral component of the infrastructure enhances opportunities for solutions that are cost effective and work with nature, creating more vibrant and livable communities.

The USDA Forest Service estimates the value of the nation’s urban forests at over 4.1 trillion dollars. Over 4.9 billion trees grow in about 148 million acres of cities, suburbs and towns, and this number is expected to double by 2050.

With statistics like these, urban forests clearly must be considered a city asset. But managing an asset requires an understanding of the value. The more knowledge there is about the trees and the environment they grow in, the better equipped city officials can be to structure a maintenance plan to meet the needs of the community.

The USDA Forest Service developed a peer-reviewed inventory analysis tool that determines the ecosystem benefit value of the urban forest. The tool, called i-Tree, translates the benefits provided by the urban forest into actual dollars. For example, New York City calculates the citizens receive $5.60 in return for every dollar spent planting and caring for trees. Having this information allows policymakers to utilize the resource for big picture economic, environmental and social benefits.

Armed with this information provided in the city’s urban forest inventory, other cities are putting i-Tree to use for the community. The city of Urbana, Illinois uses cost-benefit analysis to make resource decisions to maintain the current tree population and improve its species diversity and resilience to natural disasters like ice storms and invasive species like emerald ash bore. Part of their climate action plan includes increased tree maintenance to utilize the urban forest canopy to manage stormwater runoff pollution issues. And Holy Yoke, Massachusetts is developing its urban forest to reduce energy costs and social inequities.

With these i-Tree tools, active urban forest planning and management can happen without leaving the office (on some days). Sitting at our desks, the GIS system integration allows the city arborist to identify conflicts with public works projects or threats from natural disasters, and communicate with the public, the work force, and other departments to solve problems with the planning and engineer teams, before they ever happen.

Of course, i-Tree and its benefits are just the tip of the iceberg. Trees bring a number of environmental, social and economic benefits and are a key to community vibrancy. A great resource for learning more is Vibrant Cities & Urban Forest: A National Call to Action, a report put together by 25 urban and environmental issue specialists that outlines several specific recommendations to improve the sustainable qualities of our communities and to face some of our greatest challenges in a cost-effective way.

Trees are the key to creating and managing sustainable communities. Learn more about the benefits of urban forestry in communities at the Trees Are the Key website and resource center.