AS SHE WALKED down Troy Street in La Villita, a neighborhood on Chicago's southwest side, Dulce Garduno pulled at patio gates. "Locked," she said, shoving a bilingual flyer through. She jangled padlocks and peered into side yards. "Locked ... locked..." The block was lined with identical boxy brick homes built to house workers in the early 1900s. Maple trees shaded the sidewalk-a good sign at first glance. But Citlally Fa-bela, a forestry program coordinator out making the rounds with Garduno, saw warning signs that the trees might not be there for much longer. Some species of maple have a reputation for getting their roots tangled in city water infrastructure. Branches were sagging over the street-a sign that the trees had been disregarded by the city and were now a risk to anyone passing under them.
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