May 7, 2008
LEED and Lunacy in Lexington
You all know about LEED, the acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the checklist process where so-called "green architects" and their allies in the building materials, construction and real estate fields can go about getting certified. It's the equivalent of getting those gold and silver stars in the 4th grade for perfect attendance or sitting quietly at your desk during rest time, or maybe for a perfect spelling text. Well, LEED certification does have its merits, and when it seems we all need some plaque to hang on the wall, maybe this makes some sense. But too often I'm reaching the conclusion that the acronym for LEED really means, "Lunatic Environmentalists Enthusiastically Demolishing." I had written earlier (May 2, 2008) about the outrageous mendacity of the Nature Conservancy saying it wasn't feasible to renovate a hundred year old warehouse in Indianapolis as an excuse to raze it and build a suburbanesque green-gizmo building instead.
May 2, 2008
Sustainable Development and “Green Buildings” Aren’t Synonyms
Sustainable development is critical for the future of the planet. So called green buildings are an important part of a comprehensive sustainable development strategy. An important part, but not the whole thing. Far, far too many environmentalists and "green architects" in the US think that green buildings and sustainable development are synonyms and they are not. That is equivalent to thinking that going to the dentist is all there is to health care.
April 30, 2008
Neighborhood Business District vs Shopping Center in Neighborhood
I learn from my clients -- or sometimes their assignment forces me to learn for myself. This was recently the case in a trip to Boise, Idaho. I was invited by Terri Schorzman of COMPASS -- the Community Planning Association of Southeast Idaho. Terri had invited me to make a presentation on property rights as part of a speaker series COMPASS is hosting. But since she was stuck paying for a day's worth of my time, Terri contacted Katina Dutton, the development manager for Boise's Capital City Development Corporation for how else I might spend my time. It turns out that the City of Boise and CCDC have been looking at strategies to enhance and revitalize 5 or 6 shopping centers located within Boise's residential neighborhoods. Well, over the years I've worked in a number of neighborhood business districts around the country including Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Baltimore and elsewhere, so at first I thought, "No problem". But then during my pre-visit discu
April 30, 2008
Best Job in the World
I often tell clients, students and audiences that I have the best job in the world -- and that is no exaggeration. Every year I get to visit a hundred or so communities throughout the United States, and in recent years a dozen or so countries. And here's what I do -- I go in, pretend I know what I'm talking about, and leave. No responsibility, no implementation, no follow through. Who could have a better job than that? And that's probably just as well, because I really don't have many skills. But I do have one -- I'm a very good note taker. I see what people are trying to do, what seems to work, what doesn't, and from those notes I make lists. That's what I really am -- a list maker. But I've recently realized that I'm being a bit selfish with what I'm learning, that there ought to be a way to more widely distribute these great lessons. A blog may be it.
