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. ...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
In the June 2009 issue of New Urban News, researchers Lawrence Frank and Sarah Kavage report that "location [of a neighborhood] within a region" is a highly significant determinant of residents' travel behavior and, therefore, "containing development at the fringe...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
OK, the rhetoric is occasionally over the top, but that's part of the fun. This little three-minute film, which won a contest sponsored by the Congress for the New Urbanism, is really entertaining: Here's a bit more about the film, which...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
I am immensely grateful to my colleagues at NRDC and in the broader smart growth movement for being on top of what's been going on in the stimulus negotiations, particularly with respect to transportation investment. I know the legislation...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
One of the most popular tags on the overall Switchboard site is "markettransformation." I'm a believer. Not everything we need for sustainability can be accomplished through policy initiatives (the current feeding frenzy at the trough of "stimulus" notwithstanding). And...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
President-elect Obama takes office this month vowing to fight climate change, tackle oil dependency and revive the U.S. economy. NRDC believes that smart growth and transit are a big part of the solution. As New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Does this look to you like an environmentally sustainable place to put a "destination resort, retail, and convention center core"? Me neither. How about a golf course? Irrigation, anyone? Let's recreate a little bit of Scotland in the...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , U.S. Law and Policy
The new issue of New Urban News has a great feature in which six leaders of smart growth and new urbanism express their wishes for the new administration. Excerpts from some of my favorites below, with links: John Norquist:...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably
HOPE VI is by far my favorite government housing assistance program. Few in my world know how it got its name (Housing Opportunity for People Everywhere, Title VI - thanks, Payton), but we all know its mission of...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably
Writing in yesterday's Washington Post, Joel Garreau (Edge City, Radical Evolution) collects ideas from several accomplished designer and developer types on how to reshape old big-box retail stores into spaces more suited to the 21st-century. It's a subject I've...continued→
