Sustainability

suburbia

Times are changing, and there’s evidence that design firms and planners are changing with them. Here are great examples of a refreshing mentality: plans for suburban design that account for sustainability from the very beginning.[read more]

new urbanism in Salt Lake City

Christie Oostema, Planning Director at Envision Utah said in a recent podcast that she hopes to see Salt Lake City become an incubator for new urbanism projects.[read more]

energy-efficient appliances

There are a lot of different types of water heaters on the market, though, so how do you know which one will work most efficiently for your living environment?[read more]

urban air quality

Air pollution needs to be dealt with in a more holistic manner, wherein major contributors, like industries, power plants, and vehicles are addressed together. No one policy is sufficient to deal with this multi-faceted problem.[read more]

green roof in Kabul

Upon identifying the specifics of climate change, we can create relevant methods within our communities to internalize these specifics and to develop strategic, pro-active responses to contend with the harsh reality of climate change.[read more]

Urban resilience/shutterstock

Maggie Comstock, a global policy wonk on green buildings and cities, spoke with SCC about global sustainable development trends and the emergence of resiliency planning for cities around the world.[read more]

urban green revolution

With global carbon dioxide levels at a historic high, something major needs to happen if we are to get anything close to a sustainable use of the planet’s resources. Could a ‘green revolution’ in cities be the solution?[read more]

going green outside the home

When people think about green buildings, what comes to mind is solar panels, geothermal energy, improved insulation, and so forth. Although we often forget it, being green also includes what lies beyond the walls![read more]

urban green infrastructure

How do the benefits of urban green infrastructure stack up against the costs? We need to better understand the services and disservices of green infrastructure for improved planning and management of urban ecosystems.[read more]

recycling to defeat Hitler?

Robert Long at The New Republic points to a few studies showing that conservatives are more likely to recycle when such activity is tied to values like patriotism.[read more]

public transit

Friends told me I could easily get a house. But I didn’t want to increase my carbon footprint by moving into a bigger house just because I could afford it. And I was not going to drive to school everyday to study Sustainability.[read more]

car crazy?

With continued fluctuation in gasoline prices and increasingly congested highways, many Americans are becoming more receptive to giving up their cars – or at least trading the daily commute to and from work.[read more]