Is this the world’s greenest neighborhood?
NRDC Switchboard, August 24, 2011
I am on vacation in Victoria, British Columbia, a wonderful city that – among other good things – is home to Dockside Green, which some people are calling the greenest development in the world. At least with respect to new, highly urban developments-in-progress, they may have a case to make: for starters, when NRDC, the US Green Building Council and the Congress for the New Urbanism first announced the LEED for Neighborhood Development pilot program to honor smart growth, the developers of Dockside Green made a point of being the program’s very first applicant. It has since earned a platinum rating under LEED-ND.

A building spurt in Minneapolis
Star Tribune (Minn.), August 24, 2011
It’s been one of the worst years in history for home builders, but not in Minneapolis. The city expects to issue permits to build more than 1,500 new housing units — mostly rental apartments, according to the Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development Department…It’s a boom that’s being fueled by the convergence of two trends: a return to city living and a growing preference for rental housing over homeownership.

City vision for downtown: better parks, urban rail, cheaper housing
The Statesman (Texas), August 24, 2011
Picture downtown Austin with spruced-up parks, urban rail, more tree-lined and wider sidewalks and moderately priced housing. Those are some of the ideas described in a $1.6 million master plan that the City Council may consider today . The plan lays out a vision for transforming downtown that would cost as much as $350 million to carry out over the next decade. It’s not clear where the money would come from, but the likely options are fees, bond elections or partnerships with private companies.