By making our neighborhoods, cities and metro regions stronger, more livable and more efficient, we can save money, protect the environment and improve our quality of life. For decades we have allowed our older communities to deteriorate while allowing newer ones to gobble up the landscape with suburban sprawl. The choices we make for our own habitat have enormous impacts on our well-being, economy and natural environment.
Posted May 25, 2012 by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably
I’ve never been to Venice, but I want to go. Obviously one of the world’s most storied cities, it seems haunting and romantic, if also maybe not fully “real” in the same sense as communities I usually write about. ...continued→
Posted May 24, 2012 by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming
Yesterday I had the honor of joining a 200-strong peloton on the last leg of Climate Ride's five-day cycling journey from New York City to Washington, raising money and awareness for the cause all along the way. The organization...continued→
Posted May 22, 2012 by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council is set to adopt a policy framework on removing single-use plastic bags from our supermarkets and select retail stores. Simply stated, a reusable bag policy is a smart solution to a major environmental...continued→
Posted May 22, 2012 by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably
Phil LaCombe and Lou Thomas, co-founders of the website and blog Small Streets, believe that the Danish capital of Copenhagen provides a special environment for delightful walking. It is certainly not a shock to find such praise for the...continued→
Posted May 21, 2012 by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably
Two years ago, I wrote a short article titled Transit-oriented development requires more than transit and development. My point was that, to maximize the powerful potential of public transportation to reduce automobile dependence and associated environmental impacts, we should...continued→
Posted May 18, 2012 by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably
Charlotte now has a lively entertainment district within shouting distance of Uptown, thanks to the NC Music Factory, which has repurposed a decaying textile mill into a sophisticated mix of concert theatres, restaurants, offices and places to hang out. ...continued→
Posted May 17, 2012 by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably
The housing price recovery has begun, says a new report from The Demand Institute, a think tank recently launched by Nielson and The Conference Board to track consumer demand. Among the findings that are promising for more sustainable development...continued→
Posted May 16, 2012 by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably
(Illustration courtesy of Julie Stuart, Making Ideas Visible) Today’s post is guest-authored by my friend and frequent collaborator, Lee Epstein. Lee is an attorney and land use planner working for sustainability in the mid-Atlantic region. First, a confession: I...continued→
Posted May 15, 2012 by Kaid Benfield in Curbing Pollution, Green Enterprise, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably
About two decades ago, my friend Bob – a mover and shaker of sorts in the art world – took me to an artist’s studio in a (then, at least) scruffy area of lower Manhattan. The artist we were...continued→
Posted May 14, 2012 by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably
The neighborhood near Nationals Park, the baseball stadium in southeastern Washington, DC, is undergoing an amazing transformation. A decade ago, the federal Department of Transportation had made a hopeful commitment to the area with plans for a new headquarters,...continued→
