Green Building
The Coolest Buildings Aren't Green
Creating 'greener' buildings will help address climate change... right?
How Often Do Cities Mandate Smart Growth?
A recent Mercatus Institute paper addresses the frequency of minimum density regulations, maximum parking requirements, and similar regulations.
Embodied Energy of Historic Buildings: Physical and Metaphysical
Inherently unlovable buildings—no matter how energy efficient—lacks the stuff of longevity. How can your EcoDistrict design for lovable buildings? It may not include tearing down the historic stock.
World Bank Study Finds Large-Scale Benefits for 'Climate-Smart Development'
A new study by the World Bank examines the benefits for policies addressing clean transportation, energy efficiency in industry, and energy efficiency in buildings in five countries and the European Union.
Baltimore's First EcoDistrict: State Center Redevelopment Project
Baltimore's first test of the EcoDistrict green neighborhood program was enabled by a lawsuit that delayed the State Center redevelopment project for four years.
Wind Turbines Gaining Traction in New York City
With two new wind turbine installations at the tops of buildings in New York and dozens more in the pipeline, will turbines be as ubiquitous as water towers on the New York skyline?
Kerfluffle Over Green Building Rating Systems
The latest dust up over green building rating systems, especially their efficacy relative to each other, highlights the danger of mixing the ideals of environmentalism with the self-interest of running an environmentalist organization.
Chinese Development Goes Green
Architects Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown bring a new model for ecologically responsible urban planning to China.
Federal Program Develops Innovative Greening Strategies, But Is Anyone Paying Attention?
Kaid Benfield spotlights an innovative federal program that is "not very well known but deserves to be." The "Greening America’s Capitals" program aims to make America's state capitals showpieces for green infrastructure and green building practices.
LEED Certification: Path to Better Buildings or Bigger Bottom Lines?
With supporting evidence from a USA TODAY analysis, Thomas Frank examines the LEED points system and finds that certification, and the tax breaks and other rewards that go with it, can be easily obtained without proven environmental impact.
Green Building Takes Hold in Britain
As the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) hands out its most recent awards, Sarah Morrison chronicles the mainstreaming of green building in Britain.
Carpentry, Construction a Remedy for At-Risk Youth
Tom Stoelker reports on a program that's teaching inner-city youngsters valuable skills – by training them to build its own headquarters.
What Are People Saying About Your Building Online?
Andrew Michler gives an overview of a brand new social networking platform that could reshape how we evaluate and compare buildings.
How Green Building Is Transforming Real Estate
William Pentland notes a crescendo in the clamor for green buildings in the upscale, commercial market.
The Greenest Cities on the Planet
In a piece for GE's Ecomagination, Michael d'Estries takes a look at five cities that set the bar for cutting carbon, recycling waste, and making space for Mother Nature.
Are 100-Mile Houses the Next Green Building Trend?
Taking a page from the locavore food movement, an architectural competition in Vancouver asks entrants to design a home using materials made or recycled within 100 miles of the city, writes Mark Boyer.
Sidestepping Zoning to Build Green in NYC
Even in New York City, it's a pain to try to "green" a building with insulation, overhangs, and other methods that violate zoning. Katharine Jose reports on the Zone Green Text Amendment, which addresses such impediments, and the team behind it.
Virginia's Green Building Revolution
The commonwealth's nonprofit affordable housing developers are outgreening their market-rate peers, bringing green building up to scale statewide.
The Rental Boost From Green Design
Energy efficiency has become as compelling as "the new granite countertop" for home sales and rentals.
Affordable Housing Industry Embraces Green Building Techniques
Affordable housing advocates find that green building techniques result in higher-quality construction -- and often with costs comparable to traditional building techniques.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
