Green Building
What to Look For in 2010 in Sustainability
New Urbanist Steve Mouzon lists the sustainable building trends to watch out for in the new year, including the growth of live/work spaces and a move towards greater durability.
The Last Ten Years in Architecture
Treehugger's Lloyd Alter takes a look back at the last ten years of architecture and finds some progressive trends and positive signs for the future.
LEED's Energy Problem
Two recent studies on the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certifications have found that many of the building's with the green certification are actually energy hogs. This piece from The Atlantic offers an explanation.
'No Credits, Just Prerequisites'
The Living Building Challenge is a new environmental rating system that focuses on required environmental design elements, diverging dramatically from the credit-based approach of the built environment's dominant rating system, LEED.
Green Buildings of the Future
WebEcoist has pulled together a fascinating gallery of imaginative designs for green dwelling and living spaces, including a design for co-op housing inspired by Anasazi cliff dwellings.
Sustainability is a Lifestyle, Not an Accessory
Witold Rybczynski bemoans the green movement's emphasis on sustainability measure that treat environmental action as a process of accessorizing rather than changing lifestyles.
When Going Green Is Less Important Than Saving Green
A new HVAC system for a building in Minnesota that was expected to meet high environmental standards was going to come in at almost three times its originally estimated costs. So city officials are delaying.
Preservationists Fighting for Century Plaza Hotel
The Los Angeles Conservancy has been building a coalition to preserve the Century Plaza Hotel after developers announced plans to replace the hotel with new mixed use development.
California's Classrooms Going Green
With what some are calling the worst classroom conditions in the nation, California is trying to solve the problem by replacing all of its portable classrooms with green buildings.
Green Developments Getting Green Light
Developers are finding it easier to get funding for sustainable building projects due to federal incentives and investor interest in green certification.
The Challenge of Turning Blue Collars Green
The new documentary The Greening of Southie follows construction workers in Boston as they adapt to the new rules and regulations of green development (sometimes unwittingly).
Green School Building Bill Passes House
The Democrats of the U.S. House of Representatives have passed a bill that would create a green school building program in the U.S., investing more than $6 billion in its first year to build more environmentally friendly schools.
Nature Guiding Green Building
Builders, architects and designers are increasingly looking to nature for guidance as they try to build greener and more sustainably.
Piecing Neighborhoods Together Out Of Foreclosures
In Detroit, a couple bought a foreclosure for $1900. They've been steadily piecing together a community out of their neighborhood ever since.
Firestorm Over Anti-Green Building Report
A study released last week by NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, concluded that green standards were not financially feasible for Class A office buildings. Not so, experts say.
The Green City in the Desert
This piece from Construction Week looks at the environmentally-conscious Xeritown proposed in Dubai and the methods it will take to conserve and create energy.
The Masdar Model For New Cities
Masdar City, the elaborate and ambitious planned green development in Abu Dhabi, is slowing coming into shape. This piece from Technology Review looks at how the city's development could inform the future of citybuilding.
Building Green For the Low-Income
New green building projects aimed at low-income residents are popping up across the country, and federal stimulus money is helping.
Good for Enviros, Chore for Landlords
The newly passed stimulus bill's sustainability elements are blessings for green builders and environmentalists. As far as commercial property owners are concerned, however, those elements may be seen as too much work for little benefit.
Creating Sustainability in Oregon
The master plan for Salem, Oregon's Pringle Creek Community is ambitious, says Jim Fitzsimons, incorporating mixed-use, sustainable development with the community-enhancing aspects of old city neighborhoods.
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
