Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably
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. ...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably
Last week's post on the architecture of the Make It Right Foundation's new homes in New Orleans brought some thoughtful comments, and it brought even more when I reposted it on another site that I also frequent. ...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably
As I'm sure most readers know, Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation has been constructing houses in New Orleans' Ninth Ward, so that residents who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina can return. That's an undeniably noble endeavor. ...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably
Following up on yesterday's post, Hank Dittmar of The Prince's Foundation sent three new photos that were taken earlier this week in Rose Town, Jamaica. Together they capture some of the progress and pride that the project is engendering. The first is...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably
A great story is emerging in Rose Town, Jamaica, a community in the process of being reborn with the help of HRH the Prince of Wales and The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment. My very favorite...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
There has been a lot written about how federal stimulus money has not done as much as one might hope for existing urban communities. By contrast, quite a bit of the money has instead been slated for highway projects. A shining exception,...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Living Sustainably
Can a Walmart anchor transit-oriented revitalization? Charlotte city council member Nancy Carter seems to think so. From News 14 Carolina's web site: "Soon, the boarded-up store fronts and run-down parking lots that make up the mostly vacant Amity...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably
Every summer, Boston's Asian Community Development Corporation has been hosting an informal grassroots Asian film festival in a vacant lot near the city's Chinatown Gate. The final night this year (above) was held in the nearby Chinatown Park. As...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably
A major challenge that has come with sprawl over the last half-century has been that growing up, maturing, and growing older has required, more often than not, moving to a new community at each new stage. This is largely because...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
I want to do a new series of occasional posts on greening the urban density that we need for sustainable growth. And I can think of no better way to kick it off than with this 5-minute video featuring my...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably
Hey, Washington Post, it's good news and another sign that cities are back when crime rates drop. As the news outlet of record for a major city and metropolitan area, you'd think they would get that. But, instead of reporting...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
I just ran across a very provocative report assessing the response of 40 large US cities to climate change. Published a couple of months ago by the philanthropic collaborative Living Cities, the report Green Cities: How Urban Sustainability Efforts Can...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
Wow. On Monday, before heading out to toss the first pitch at Tuesday's baseball All-Star Game, the president kicked off a White House forum on urban policy by criticizing past federal measures that have encouraged sprawl and promising a new...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Living Sustainably
Warning: this is a long one. Readers of a certain age will remember Joni's Mitchell's iconic anthem "Woodstock," celebrating the famous 1969 music festival (which, incidentally, she did not attend, but I digress). The song became a monster hit for...
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
This was going to be the final installment of my miniseries about Cincinnati's remarkable Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, but I'm on too much of a roll to finish today. (Or, as my man Van would put it, "it's too late to stop...
