Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil
Last week the Urban Land Institute and PriceWaterhouseCoopers released their well-regarded annual analysis, Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010. The report, which has been published for the last 30 years, aims to advise the industry "on where to invest, what...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably
According to a press release issued last week, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis has announced that the agency will update the system used to score applications for clean water infrastructure loans. The changes will...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Curbing Pollution , Green Enterprise , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Lee County, Florida (Fort Myers) is moving forward with an innovative plan to use clustered, dense development instead of large-lot zoning to protect its water supply. Under current zoning the southeastern portion of the Gulf coast county has been threatened...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
One of the more frustrating challenges for people in our field to overcome is a certain past-is-destiny argument from sprawl defenders who contend that past trends in favor of large-lot, dispersed, automobile-dependent development constitute proof that Americans want more of...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably
MSN.com has become the latest news outlet to confirm that the ever-outward suburban construction boom that defined US real estate virtually unchallenged for half a century has gone bust, and perhaps not just temporarily. I've been documenting this story...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably
Lynchburg, Virginia last week became the latest jurisdiction to impose standards on big-box retailers. While the new standards do not preclude new Walmarts, Costcos and such from locating in the city, they do require that the stores be more pedestrian-,...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably
These amazing images are not photographs but drawings, and not of real places but of imagined ones. What is especially striking to me about Ross Racine's work is how real they seem, and that's not just because of the...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
This is a follow-up to add to the record concerning the wisdom of the proposed office park and subdivision north of Frederick, Maryland. The property in question is highlighted in red jutting out from the existing city limits to the...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
I don't think so, either. But the leaders of the city of Frederick, Maryland, apparently think otherwise. This is despite strong opposition from the leaders of surrounding Frederick County, which until now has had jurisdiction over the property. Basically this is...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
I make no pretense of objectivity on this one. I've been working on LEED for Neighborhood Development for seven long years. It's now finished and awaiting final approval by the three founding partners - NRDC (in consultation with the Smart...continued→
