skip to main content

Natural Resources Defense Council

Switchboard

Kaid Benfield's Blog

Tags: community

A close-up look at a revitalization district (Indianapolis, part 2: the challenges)

November 19, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably

Tags:
brownfields, community, communitydevelopment, neighborhood, revitalization, smartercities, smartgrowth, vacantproperties

    Earlier this month I began a series of posts about Indianapolis's Smart Growth Redevelopment District, which I have had the honor of advising.  The area in question is a distressed part of the city, two miles northeast of...continued

Habitat partners with state, private sector to build affordable LEED-ND project in Oakland

November 17, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably

Tags:
brownfields, community, greenbuilding, habitatforhumanity, LEED-ND, neighborhood, oakland, revitalization, smartgrowth

     Habitat for Humanity's East Bay affiliate is retrofitting a brownfield into 54 affordable homes on two acres of land in Oakland, California.  With excellent location, walkable density, great design, and green features, the Edes Avenue project is participating...continued

Urban education: the next environmental and smart growth frontier

November 16, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Living Sustainably

Tags:
community, education, redevelopment, schools, smartercities, smartgrowth

Today I am pleased to present a very good guest post by my friend and frequent collaborator Lee Epstein:  Reading Kaid's recent posts on the great value (and sometime dearth) of environmentalists engaging on urban redevelopment issues made me recall...continued

New book ‘Green Community’ defines and illustrates sustainable neighborhoods, towns, cities

November 13, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably

Tags:
community, greencommunity, nationalbuildingmuseum, neighborhood, smartercities, smartgrowth, sustainablecommunities

I am most pleased to announce the release of Green Community, a new book produced and published jointly by the National Building Museum and the American Planning Association.  It's a terrific book of essays, if I do say so.  (Full...continued

‘Dangerous by Design’ report faults systematic inattention to pedestrian safety

November 12, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably

Tags:
bicycling, community, driving, neighborhood, safety, smartgrowth, streetdesign, transportation, walking

  Transportation for America's website introduces its important new report, Dangerous by Design, with an attention-grabbing statistic: "In the last 15 years, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed while crossing or walking along a street in their community. More...continued

“Housing First” offers glimmer of hope for homeless veterans, others

November 11, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably

Tags:
cities, community, homeless, housing, housingfirst, seattle, smartercities, smartgrowth, veterans

On this Veterans' Day, when we remember those who have served, it is troubling to note that, although veterans make up around 9 percent of our population, they comprise 23 percent of our homeless population and fully a third of...continued

Walk Score incorporates transit, real estate industry takes note

November 6, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably

Tags:
community, neighborhood, realestate, smartercities, smartgrowth, walkability, walkscore

    Walk Score keeps getting better, and it was already very good.  With assistance from the Rockefeller Foundation, the locational rating system has now incorporated transit service data from 40 metro regions into its service, so that its maps...continued

All aboard: Cincinnati voters emphatically reject anti-streetcar measure

November 4, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
cincinnati, community, measure9, neighborhood, smartercities, smartgrowth, streetcars

      Cincinnati voters have rejected "Measure 9," an anti-streetcar initiative, by a 56-44 percent margin.  The measure was aimed at killing a streetcar plan approved earlier this year by the city council, and would have required further referenda...continued

An Indy neighborhood could become a model of smart, green revitalization – so where are the enviros?

November 2, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably

Tags:
brownfields, community, indianapolis, neighborhood, redevelopment, revitalization, smartercities, smartgrowth

    Last week I had the honor of being one of seven smart growth types recruited by the American Institute of Architects to work with the city of Indianapolis and community residents on the model revitalization of a distressed urban neighborhood. ...continued

In improving communities, small steps can make a big difference

October 29, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably

Tags:
bryantpark, community, neighborhood, parks, publicspaces, smartercities, smartgrowth

  Last week, I had the honor of speaking to the Indiana chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects on the subject of sustainable communities.  I enjoy this sort of thing, and when I have time - as I did...continued

Kaid Benfield
Kaid Benfield
Director, Smart Growth Program
Washington, DC
Co-founder, LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system; co-founder, Smart Growth America coalition; author, Once There...
more

Switchboard Archives

Kaid Benfield's archives