We hardly notice them. But street trees are monuments to city life

In the Guardian today, “Finally, we reached my own street, where in their imitation of the western front the amputated branches of the big London planes reach towards the sky. They could last for another century, though they may not. Cost is against them: like old human beings, old trees need more money to look after, which helps explain their controversial destruction in Sheffield by a private company, Amey, hired by the council to maintain them.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/13/plane-trees-london-monuments-city-life-shade-carbon-pavements?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress