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Tags: smartercities

EPA's new, interactive green homes site

November 20, 2009

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

Tags:
greenbuilding, homes, smartercities, smartgrowth

     The federal EPA has a new and very handy "what you can do" web site on green homes.  Click on a portion of the house and you'll be taken to a page with tips that pertain to that...continued

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

Living green above the big box

November 18, 2009

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

Tags:
bigboxstores, greenbuilding, markettransformation, smartercities, smartgrowth, transitorienteddevelopment

      Cool Town Studios has a very interesting new blog post about an award-winning development called The Rise in Vancouver.  Although the project is anchored by big-box retail, the parking is underground, there are 90 homes above, the...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

“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

Federal officials, other leaders stress “sustainable communities” at national planning forum

November 5, 2009

Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably

Tags:
communities, housing, planning, smartercities, smartgrowth, sustainable, transportation

  "Sustainable communities" was the phrase of the day at the annual symposium of the American Institute of Certified Planners, held last week at the National Building Museum.  Federal officials from the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development...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

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...
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