http://cnu.org/sites/files/Schools2007FINAL.pdf
School Choice: A Remedy for Sprawl
The core function of schools is, obviously, to educate our children. Schools serve additional functions as centers of culture and community. And at the regional scale, they have great influence over where people choose to live.
Over just a few generations, the role of schools in their communities has changed visibly. Schools have gone from being fixtures of traditional neighborhoods - the stately brick building down the street or around the block - to institutions found a driving distance away in settings indistinguishable from business or industrial parks.
And while school quality has always been a factor in determining where people choose to live, the pattern of middle- and upper-class families avoiding less affluent communities and choosing more affluent ones in order to access preferred public schools is a force that's making commuties less diverse and regions more segregated . . .
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Incorporating Green Design Elements to Enhance Multifamily Communities
http://www.multi-housingnews.com/multihousing/reports_analysis/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003596132
Incorporating Green Design Elements to Enhance Multifamily Communities
The American Institute of Architects' (AIA) National Convention and Design Expo in San Antonio observed the theme of "Growing Beyond Green" last month, in recognition of its 150th anniversary. Architects focused on their past achievements and future endeavors to incorporate environmentally friendly concepts fully into their designs, including those of multifamily developments . . .
Rapidly evolving from a niche topic just three to four years ago, green affordable housing has become incorporated into the mainstream. Sustainable low-market housing reduces energy bills by up to 30 percent, eliminates the presence of toxic building materials, provides improved ventilation, and creates a link between housing developments and their surrounding communities. Top green building researchers and architects concurred that sustainable design for affordable housing can indeed revitalize communities throughout the U.S.
"Developers are hungry to know how green can work for them," observed Bill Roschen, AIA, co-principal of Los Angeles-based Roschen Van Cleve Architects, at the "Greening Affordable Housing: New Innovations from the Field" seminar. "We need to find more innovative ways to push the creative envelope on sustainable affordable housing to encourage more developers." . . .
Through continued implementation of Smart Growth design principles, mixed-use developments in various cities have been providing health-conscious communities in major metropolitan areas, according to David Dixon, FAIA, co-principal of Boston-based Goody Clancy Architects. Establishing mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly developments in dense, urban environments has proven to be the best alternative for city dwellers.
"There's been a higher demand for condos than for single-family homes," said Dixon at the "Turning Cities Green: Reinventing the American Neighborhood" seminar. "Americans want walkable, sprawling communities. They would prefer a shorter commute than a backyard. All the pieces are coming together. We must be advocates for green planning." . . .
Incorporating Green Design Elements to Enhance Multifamily Communities
The American Institute of Architects' (AIA) National Convention and Design Expo in San Antonio observed the theme of "Growing Beyond Green" last month, in recognition of its 150th anniversary. Architects focused on their past achievements and future endeavors to incorporate environmentally friendly concepts fully into their designs, including those of multifamily developments . . .
Rapidly evolving from a niche topic just three to four years ago, green affordable housing has become incorporated into the mainstream. Sustainable low-market housing reduces energy bills by up to 30 percent, eliminates the presence of toxic building materials, provides improved ventilation, and creates a link between housing developments and their surrounding communities. Top green building researchers and architects concurred that sustainable design for affordable housing can indeed revitalize communities throughout the U.S.
"Developers are hungry to know how green can work for them," observed Bill Roschen, AIA, co-principal of Los Angeles-based Roschen Van Cleve Architects, at the "Greening Affordable Housing: New Innovations from the Field" seminar. "We need to find more innovative ways to push the creative envelope on sustainable affordable housing to encourage more developers." . . .
Through continued implementation of Smart Growth design principles, mixed-use developments in various cities have been providing health-conscious communities in major metropolitan areas, according to David Dixon, FAIA, co-principal of Boston-based Goody Clancy Architects. Establishing mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly developments in dense, urban environments has proven to be the best alternative for city dwellers.
"There's been a higher demand for condos than for single-family homes," said Dixon at the "Turning Cities Green: Reinventing the American Neighborhood" seminar. "Americans want walkable, sprawling communities. They would prefer a shorter commute than a backyard. All the pieces are coming together. We must be advocates for green planning." . . .
July 25 this webcast will showcase
https://www.eventbuilder.com/event_desc.asp?p_event=3k7c89n7
Balancing Water Quality and Smart Growth Goals
On July 25 this webcast will showcase how two very different communities-San Jose, California and Barnstable, Massachusetts-have taken action to protect water quality while maintaining smart growth goals for density and redevelopment. Speakers from both communities will provide background and discuss the political, economic, and regulatory aspects of their program.
Balancing Water Quality and Smart Growth Goals
On July 25 this webcast will showcase how two very different communities-San Jose, California and Barnstable, Massachusetts-have taken action to protect water quality while maintaining smart growth goals for density and redevelopment. Speakers from both communities will provide background and discuss the political, economic, and regulatory aspects of their program.
A Place for Granny: The Case for Accessory Dwelling Units
http://blogs.rockymountainnews.com/denver/speakout/2007/06/a_place_for_granny_the_case_fo.html
A Place for Granny: The Case for Accessory Dwelling Units
. . . There are clear financial and social benefits for both owner and rental households at all socioeconomic levels. Accessory dwelling units also provide benefits to neighborhoods by enhancing safety through more eyes on the street, revitalizing aging structures and preserving character by serving as a "green" alternative to excessive scrape-off activity. At the city level, they provide a way to comfortably add more people, promote a greater diversity of housing opportunities, and add affordable housing stock at virtually no cost to local government or the nonprofit sector.
Common concerns expressed about their reintroduction in existing neighborhoods center on parking, traffic, appropriate design, and fears about blight caused by absentee landowners. All of these matters can be adequately addressed through appropriate zoning standards and a process that ensures that at least one of the units always be owner-occupied.
Santa Cruz, Calif., has done just that with award winning standards and design guidelines. Closer to home, Longmont has standards that apply to both new developments and established neighborhoods . . .
Should accessory units be legalized in Denver, results in other communities suggest the creation of 500 to 1,000 units per year, depending on the level of promotion and the ease of permitting. Metrowide, there is the potential for several times that figure.
It is time to take a fresh look and modernize our aging single-family housing stock in a way that recognizes our changing social and economic needs . . .
A Place for Granny: The Case for Accessory Dwelling Units
. . . There are clear financial and social benefits for both owner and rental households at all socioeconomic levels. Accessory dwelling units also provide benefits to neighborhoods by enhancing safety through more eyes on the street, revitalizing aging structures and preserving character by serving as a "green" alternative to excessive scrape-off activity. At the city level, they provide a way to comfortably add more people, promote a greater diversity of housing opportunities, and add affordable housing stock at virtually no cost to local government or the nonprofit sector.
Common concerns expressed about their reintroduction in existing neighborhoods center on parking, traffic, appropriate design, and fears about blight caused by absentee landowners. All of these matters can be adequately addressed through appropriate zoning standards and a process that ensures that at least one of the units always be owner-occupied.
Santa Cruz, Calif., has done just that with award winning standards and design guidelines. Closer to home, Longmont has standards that apply to both new developments and established neighborhoods . . .
Should accessory units be legalized in Denver, results in other communities suggest the creation of 500 to 1,000 units per year, depending on the level of promotion and the ease of permitting. Metrowide, there is the potential for several times that figure.
It is time to take a fresh look and modernize our aging single-family housing stock in a way that recognizes our changing social and economic needs . . .
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