A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council demonstrates that commercial investment in green infrastructure, particularly in stormwater management, can lead to substantial financial benefits for both owners and tenants.

The NRDC report, The Green Edge: How Commercial Property Investment in Green Infrastructure Creates Value, investigates the long-term financial benefits of stormwater management tools, like bioswales, trees, permeable pavement, and rain gardens, when they are used in private commercial properties. The report examines how these practices translate to long-term gains in retail centers, mid-rise residential, and office buildings.
As Kaid Benfield explains, "These financial benefits include higher rents and property values, increased retail sales, energy savings, and reduced life-cycle and maintenance costs. As many readers will know, green infrastructure and other green building practices are also increasingly becoming a quality badge of honor for the private sector, because they illustrate a developer’s commitment to healthier, sustainable communities and placemaking."
FULL STORY: How green infrastructure investments can create commercial property value

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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