To the Editor:

Thank you, Bill Walczak for your clarity and perspective in your commentary on July 14 about state leaders having a chance to speak for the trees at the Shattuck site in Franklin Park. Urgent as the need is to provide safe refuge for the homeless and substance-dependent citizens among us, better alternatives do exist, political courage willing.

We need to recognize and prioritize the essential longer-term value that mature tree canopies and accessible open space provide for community health and climate resilience in our dense urban neighborhoods. The impacts of urban heat island effect are only accelerating, while our mature city tree census is increasingly challenged.

It’s time to take a longer view of what constitutes livability and health in our 21st century city.

David Burson