Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Calculating the Green in Green: What's an Urban Tree Worth?


Dollars and Cents
New research from the Pacific Northwest Research Station demonstrates that street trees increase home prices in Portland, Oregon, that shade trees reduce household energy use in Sacramento, California, and that these effects can be measured and expressed in dollars.

"Neighborhood and yard trees are not market commodities, so there is no simple, agreed-upon basis for calculating their value, comparing it to that of other urban-planning priorities such as keeping development costs low, or weighing benefits of trees against their costs," writes Gail Wells, a science writer, in a feature article published in Greenhouse Management & Production.

"This research is important to city governments, communities and environmental organizations because it helps them make a case for publicly funded “green infrastructure,” that supports many environmental and social amenities."

TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete story posted on the Water Bucket website, click on Calculating the Green in Green: What's an Urban Tree Worth?

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