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DesignIntelligence: From Green Buildings to Green Neighborhoods
07.06.2011 Mithun, Bert's Blog, In The News
I recently wrote an article, From Green Buildings to Green Neighborhoods for DesignIntelligence’s July/August 2011 sustainability-focused issue. We all identify with our neighborhoods and define a city by them. These are communities that are walkable units of geography, knit together by place, people, and experience. The term EcoDistrict is emerging as an inspirational beacon for collaboration among a community of public, private, non-profit, and institutional organizations and individuals. Innovations are occurring around the country to promote walkable, compact, complete, and connected mixed-use districts, campuses, and neighborhoods that are linked to mass transit. Efficiency and demand reduction being the first rules of sustainability, the Seattle 2030 District initiative is an example of an inspirational project that tackles the demand reduction basics first. Perhaps the most advanced and comprehensive effort nationally to think beyond the building to a broader district level at the sub-regional scale is Portland’s EcoDistrict Initiative. Spearheaded by the inventive Portland non-profit the Portland Sustainability Institute, this initiative involves a close partnership between PoSI and the city of Portland to develop neighborhood and district-level sustainability initiatives that can be implemented in Portland, driving economic development while serving as a model for the nation. To achieve the next level of sustainability, it will be important to focus on that scale while continuing to innovate at the building level.
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