But you can still get lost in the forest

The Huffington Post reports on a new iphone app: "Compiled from the city tree census, this free app identifies your iPhone's location and displays all the surrounding trees on a map. Opening the app here at HuffPost reveals that within a five block radius of the SoHo office, there are 407 trees, creating approximately $83,000 in benefits to the city each year. The 36 species of trees reduce CO2 emissions by 120,380 lbs and prevent 446,256 gallons of storm water run off every year"

Sounds like a great tool for an urban biodiversity campaign...

But the phone still rings out every time....

Local Government Chronicle reports that Sutton LBC in the UK is looking into the possibility of creating its own version of map-based social platform Rippll, which would allow it to present users with a range of council services based on their exact location involving services such as libraries, leisure facilities, and youth centres.

Meanwhile it is also reported that Brighton & Hove City Council is claiming to be the first UK local authority to launch an iPhone application - a free real time bus time information app created by one its residents.

The Brighton & Hove Bus Real Time Infoboard app updates automatically to show live bus times across the city’s network.

Fast Company reports that San Francisco has released a free EcoFinder iPhone app to help residents recycle and dispose of unwanted materials. The location-based app, produced by Haku Wale, uses San Francisco's XML data feed to guide residents towards drop-off points for items like mercury-filled compact fluorescent bulbs, gas tanks, printer cartridges, and furniture. Info used in the EcoFinder app will also go into Earth911's national recycling database.

An iPhone application in the Pittsburgh USA (claiming to be the first "major city" to do so) allows users to directly report problems such as potholes to the authority, along with precise map locations and photographs.

Early days yet, but some promising moves.