Green Archives - Smart Growth America

Small blue-collar Maryland hamlet innovates with stimulus help

By Admin · July 27, 2009

The town of Edmonston in Prince George’s County, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., is a small hamlet of under 2000 residents, most of them blue-collar workers. Like many other cities in America, times are tough in Edmonston, which has high rates of unemployment and foreclosure. What makes life particularly hard for Edmonston is that it is bisected by the Anacostia River. Due to poor environmental practices, the Anacostia periodically floods the town, wreaking devastation on a place already struggling to get by.

Walkable Greensburg ready for a sustainable future

By Steve Davis · June 18, 2008

The hearing before the House Select Committee on Global Warming and Energy Independence just wrapped up on Capitol Hill a few minutes ago. SGA’s David Goldberg, along with Steve Winkelman of the Center for Clean Air Policy, did a superb job in their testimony before the committee. They made a good case for how better … Continued

Uncategorized Disasters Energy Federal Policy Green Local development Placemaking Planning Policy

Investing in railroads?

By Steve Davis · March 26, 2008

If the king tells you to “jump!” you say, “how high?” And when Warren Buffett tells you to buy something you say “how much?” So when Buffet, one of the kings of investing, starts putting his money into freight railroads, financial analysts take note. Michael Sivy of CNN Money correctly observes some of the competitive … Continued

Uncategorized Energy Green Infrastructure Railroads Tech

Cities as a climate and energy solution

By Steve Davis · February 12, 2008

BusinessWeek published a special report on Green Design and Innovation this week, and one of their top stories highlights the core message of Growing Cooler: meeting the demand for the walkable neighborhoods and cities that result in less driving is one of the best solutions for reducing emissions. Alex Steffen reworked his longer essay that … Continued

Uncategorized Climate Environment Green Growing Cooler Infrastructure Oil

Is there more to sustainability than green building?

By Steve Davis · January 7, 2008

First of all, happy new year and welcome back! All of us here at SGA are excited about the prospects for 2008, including the transition to a new President and CEO, which you can read here in case you missed it. We’ll be posting Geoff Anderson’s full bio shortly, with perhaps a short Q&A on … Continued

Uncategorized Green Housing sustainability

Center for American Progress videos

By Steve Davis · December 7, 2007

Click to watch the video “A New Economic Engine: Energy in the 21st Century” Be sure to check out a recently-added video from the Center for American Progress, titled “Capturing the Energy Opportunity: Creating a Low-Carbon Economy,” including an appearance by SGA executive director Don Chen. This video is part of a series by CAP … Continued

Uncategorized Climate Economy Energy Green Video

Hot air? Blame Kotkin

By Steve Davis · October 22, 2007

Joel Kotkin teamed up with Ali Modarres last Sunday to pen a piece for the Washington Post entitled “Hot World? Blame Cities, ” in which they ignore most of the scientific evidence about lower per capita carbon emissions of city residents, placing the blame for global warming largely on the shoulders of city-dwellers, and proposing … Continued

Uncategorized Blog Climate Energy Environment Green Growing Cooler sustainability Urban Affairs

Less auto-dependent development is key to mitigating climate change

By Smart Growth America · September 20, 2007

The growing demand for conveniently located housing in walkable, accessible, compact neighborhoods with a mix of uses has been well-documented, but according to research released today, meeting that demand could significantly reduce the growth in the number of miles Americans drive, shrinking the nation’s carbon footprint while giving people more housing choices. A new book, … Continued

Uncategorized Climate Energy Environment Green Growing Cooler New Reports Publications sustainability

'Green’ cities: The key to sustainability?

By Smart Growth America · May 22, 2007

n introducing his bold, comprehensive plan for a sustainable New York on Earth Day, Mayor Michael Bloomberg pointed to research showing that New Yorkers already had the lowest per capita carbon emissions in the nation. While most news outlets focused on the controversial idea of congestion pricing for Manhattan below 86th Street, they missed the larger point: Well-planned urbanism is likely to be our best hope for curbing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting oil dependency…

Uncategorized Climate Green sustainability Urban Affairs

LEED-ND: Overwhelming response shows strong developer interest in ‘green neighborhoods’

By Smart Growth America · April 28, 2007

With limited publicity, a 60-day window to apply, and only 120 slots available, 370 developers across the country submitted proposals for the new LEED-ND pilot program, displaying a massive interest in the new groundbreaking rating system that rewards implementation of smart growth principles.

Uncategorized Green Housing New Urbanism