GREEN COMMUNITIES 2

 Sustainability  Smart Growth In This Chapter 2-1

Sustainability  “The ability to satisfy the basic needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs.”  Live in harmony with surroundings 2-2 Source: United Nations, “Our Common Future, Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development,“ 1987.

Sustainability Model 2-3 People Prosperity Planet Sustainability

Sustainability Areas 2-4 Global Civilization Nations Regional, Community Planning Site Planning for Home or Workplace Individual Lifestyle

 Sustainability measures more than just resources. It measures how its area impacts: –Local resources –Fragile ecosystems Sustainability and Green 2-5

Sustainability Measures  Length of average commute to work  Air quality  Surface water runoff  Greenhouse gas emissions  Road congestion  Housing affordability 2-6

 Local food and agriculture availability  Percentage of land devoted to parks/greenways  Percentage of city fleet’s use of alternative fuels  Car pooling/car sharing initiatives/mass transit  City sustainability departments in government Sustainability Measures 2-7

Sustainability Indices 2-8  Housing + Transportation Affordability Index:  SustainLane Index:  USGBC LEED Neighborhood Development (ND) Certification:  Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) and Environmental Performance Index (EPI): (see Figure 2.4 to see where U.S. ranks)

 Counter unsustainable developments with real estate development beneficial for all  Create communities that control impact on environment  Encourage property laws and zoning that do not unduly burden property ownership Smart Growth Goals 2-9

NAR Principles of Smart Growth Make a commitment to housing opportunity and choice and a wide range of homes for diverse population. 2.Build better communities. 3.Protect the environment. 4.Respect Constitutional rights to freely own, use, and transfer real property. 5.Implement fair measures to ensure that new infrastructure costs are shared among those served.

 Countering sprawl  Implementing principles of new urbanism  Creating efficient intermodal transportation systems  Encouraging walkability  Redeveloping abandoned sites, e.g., greyfields and brownfields Implementing Smart Growth Design 2-11

Sprawl 2-12  Poor residential accessibility –Residences far from out-of-home activities  Poor destination accessibility –Out-of-home activities far from one another  Lack of functional open space –For civic purposes and recreation purposes –For environmental protection Ewing, Reid. “Is Los Angeles-Style Sprawl Desirable?,” Journal of the American Planning Association, 1997

 Urban infill  Multiple housing and mixed-use community design elements with low impact on the environment Countering Sprawl 2-13

Implementing Principles of New Urbanism 2-14  Connectivity  Ethnic and economic diversity  Sense of “place” and identity  High density = safer communities

Efficient Intermodal Transportation Systems 2-15  Access to multiple transportation systems is key consideration  Cost of transportation is a major concern of clients and customers

Encouraging Walkability 2-16  Walkable streets  Litmus test for smart growth  Figure 2.7: How do these images compare? Photo at left from Goldberg, David. “Getting the Codes Right.” On Common Ground. National Association of REALTORS,® Summer 2006.

Redeveloping Abandoned Sites  Greyfields –Abandoned retail and commercial sites  Brownfields –Property rendered hazardous to expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of the site –Presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant 2-17

Greyfields and Brownfields 2-18 Images: abandoned grocery store, rights released to public domain; Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Smart Growth / Smart Energy Toolkit, n.d.

Exercise: Smart Growth as an Agent of Change 2-19  This exercise shows a series of pictures that represent smart growth transformation.  For each scene, identify what has changed and, if applicable, the smart growth principles that are illustrated.

Scene

Scene

Scene

Scene

Scene

Scene

Scene