Scott Ewart

<p>The scene of white-clad lawn bowlers playing amid highrises, long an icon of downtown Victoria, will soon vanish, as the city plans to turn a long-established club's greens into underground parking and a hard-surfaced urban plaza.</p>

<p>The L.A. planning commission approved regulations requiring that major new developments meet U.S. Green Building Council LEED standards, with the goal of reducing energy use in new building by 15%.</p>

<p>Developers plan to continue with a major project in downtown L.A. despite a slowing market, confident in demand for environmentally-friendly homes and walkable, urban neighborhoods.</p>

<p>The New Frontier, the first themed casino in Las Vegas, was imploded to make way for a Plaza-branded luxury resort, continuing the trend of landmark-razing, price-pushing new development.</p>

<p>Plans call to remap Coney Island's amusement district as parkland, allowing further amusement and recreational development, but blocking proposed high-rise condo towers.</p>