Kaid Benfield, Dir. Sustainable Communities - NRDC Kaid will discuss the opportunities and advantages of creating a sustainable energy future.We once thought of cities as the antithesis of sustainability - but we now know that cities can be the solution to, not the cause of, our environmental threats. To take advantage of the opportunities before us in an increasingly urban society, we must be thoughtful, shaping our metropolitan regions to reduce our environmental footprint while creating beautiful, green, inclusive neighborhoods within them. As people concerned about the health and future of the planet, we must approach this task with energy and humility, paying every bit as much attention to nurturing great people habit as we do to conserving the habitats of other species.

1. People Habitat
Kaid Benfield, NRDC
© 2012, NRDC

2. Part 1

3. Basic Point #1:
It’s Not Really About Energy
© 2012, NRDC

4. Basic Point #2:
Think Holistically
It’s always about more than we think.
© 2012, NRDC

5. Basic Point #3:
Holistic Thinking Changes the Result
Walk Score: 18
Walk Score: 95
© 2012, NRDC

6. Basic Point #4:
We Don’t Need to Do It All at Once
 Reducing driving 5% saves 162m lbs of CO2 per year
 Increasing density of development 20% saves amount
of land equal to Kings Canyon NP every year
© 2012, NRDC

7. Part 2

8. Next 25 (or so) Years:
 People: +70m
 Homes: +50m
 Nonresidential: +78b sq ft
 Half our built environment
will be new
© 2012, NRDC

9. San Diego Metro Area
 Population 2009‐2048: +42%
© 2012, NRDC

10. We Need to Get This Right
© 2012, NRDC

11. What’s Our Recent History?
© 2012, NRDC

12. A. Land Consumption
© 2012, NRDC

13. Vulnerable Resource Lands
© 2012, NRDC

14. B. Resource Use: Waste
© 2012, NRDC

15. C. Carbon Emissions
INDUSTRIAL RESIDENT.
25% 20%
COMMERCIAL
19%
TRANSPORT
34%
© 2012, NRDC

16. Driving & Transit Rates
3,000,000,000 25,000,000
2,500,000,000
20,000,000
Vehicle
Miles
Miles (in thousands)
2,000,000,000 Traveled
15,000,000
Boardings
1,500,000,000 Transit
Boardings
10,000,000
1,000,000,000
5,000,000
500,000,000
0 0
1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Year
© 2012, NRDC

17. Frequency of Transit Use, by Country

© 2012, NRDC

18. Walking, by Country
© 2012, NRDC


19. Consequences Are Not Limited
to Land & Emissions
1990:
2006:
© 2012, NRDC

20. © 2012, NRDC

21. Is This What We Really Wanted?
© 2012, NRDC

22. And Why Would They Walk?
© 2012, NRDC

23. Warehouse? Mall? Prison?
© 2012, NRDC

24. “Get In, Get It Done, Get Out!”
Walking to school is illegal here
© 2012, NRDC

25. It’s Not Just Kids
© 2012, NRDC

26. Sheesh, Kaid – We Thought You
Were Going to Be Upbeat . . .
© 2012, NRDC

27. Part 3

28. How to Do Better
© 2012, NRDC

29. Two Scales Matter Most:
First, the Region
INSIDE CITY LIMITS: METRO AREA:
 420,000 people  5,269,000 people
 132 sq mi  8,376 sq mi
© 2012, NRDC

30. Good Regional Thinking Means
Developing Only In the Right Places
© 2012, NRDC

31. Revitalization Is Almost Always
a Right Place: Reason #1
© 2012, NRDC

32. Reason #2
Roswell
ooooooo
Marietta Lawrenceville
Conyers
Jonesboro ooooooo
© 2012, NRDC

33. Implications for CO2
Transport.
CO2/HH:
> 8.6 tons/yr
Transport.
CO2/HH:
< 3.3 tons/yr
© 2012, NRDC

34. Location Matters Even
if Everyone Drives
 Both auto-dependent
Hillsboro  Same daily vehicle
trips per capita
 Hillsboro has 25%
lower VMT
 Why? Shorter driving
distances
Antioch
© 2012, NRDC

35. Other Things Matter, Too
But Not as Much as Where We Grow
© 2012, NRDC

36. This Requires a Broader View of
“Green” Buildings
140
120
100
80 kBtu/ft2/yr,
60 Average Office
Building
40
20
0
Building Transport
Energy Energy
© 2012, NRDC

37. A Green Building In the Wrong
Place May Not Be So Green
© 2012, NRDC

38. The Other Scale that Matters Most:
Green Neighborhoods
© 2012, NRDC

39. A FRAME FOR GREEN NEIGHBORHOODS:
LEED for Neighborhood Development
 Where: smart location & linkage
 What: neighborhood pattern & design
 How: green infrastructure & buildings
© 2012, NRDC

40. A Bit More About Location
© 2012, NRDC SLL p1, c1,3

41. Strong Public Transit
Homes near strong transit generate only half the
peak-hour auto trips that are otherwise predicted
© 2012, NRDC SLL c3

42. But Avoid Sensitive Areas
© 2012, NRDC SLL p2-5, c6-9

43. What: Neighborhood
Pattern & Design (NPD)
© 2012, NRDC

44. 1. Create Walkable Density
10 homes/ac 22 homes/ac
II
© 2012, NRDC NPD p2, c2

45. Density Helps Water Quality, Too
1/acre 10/acre 70/acre
Stormwater Runoff Per Capita vs Density
I
I

46. But It Needn’t Be High Density
© 2012, NRDC

47. Diminishing Environmental Returns
Above 30-40 units/acre
I
I
Red marks: 30du/ac
22 homes per acre in DC
© 2012, NRDC

48. 2. Connected & Walkable Streets
The strongest indicator of walking
2d strongest indicator of driving
© 2012, NRDC NPD c6

49. 3. Things to Walk To
 Nearby shops increase
walking 25%
 Residents of mixed-use
neighborhoods weigh 10
lbs less than residents of
sprawl
© 2012, NRDC NPD c3

50. 4. Bring Back Walkable Schools
© 2012, NRDC NPD c15

51. 5. Diverse Housing Types, Prices
© 2012, NRDC NPD c4, 11

52. 6. Neighborhood Parks & Gardens
© 2012, NRDC NPD c9,10,13

53. How: Green Infrastructure
& Buildings(GIB)
© 2012, NRDC

54. 1. Energy & Water Efficiency
© 2012, NRDC GIB c1-4

55. 2. On-Site Renewables
© 2012, NRDC GIB c1-4

56. 3. Preservation & Adaptation
© 2012, NRDC GIB c5,6

57. 4. Stormwater & Wastewater
Management

58. Things I Didn’t Mention
Brownfield cleanup & reuse SLL c2
Housing/jobs proximity SLL c5
Ped/bike infrastructure SLL c4,
NPD c1,14
Reduced parking footprint NPD c5
Community engagement NPD c12
Heat Island reduction GIB c9
Recycled content GIB c15
Light pollution reduction GIB c17

59. Room for Improvement
in LEED-ND
 Existing neighborhoods
 Historic preservation
 Affordability
 Parks, green space
 Health
 Community engagement

60. Very Encouraging Signs
 Central-city growth up
 Driving rates down
 Driver’s licenses down
 Car registrations down
 Transit usage up
 Demographics favor urbanism
 Green infrastructure up
 Green homes command
resale premium

61. Part 4

62. A Look at Some Leaders

63. North America’s Best
Regional Plan
T
H
Population:  Developed  GHG emissions:

64. Key Elements
 54% growth via revitalization
 Transect-based minimum
densities
 Affordable housing
 $8b transit investment
 1.8m-acre greenbelt
 Force of law
 www.placestogrow.ca

65. Kaid’s Favorite
Smart Growth Project

66. The Atlanta Beltline

68. Glenwood Park
mer brownfield, 28 acres, 350 green homes, 70K commercial
O

69. Rockford, Illinois
 Largest IL city outside
Chicago metro
 Pop. 153K; metro 348K
 Historically dependent on
manufacturing
 High unemployment, low
education

70. “Vital Signs” Initiative
 Ambitious sustainability plan
 20-year goals, strategies,
measurements
 16 categories
 Vacant properties, transit
performance, economic
mobility, VMT, local food,
etc.
 www.ourvitalsigns.com

71. State-of-the-Art Planning
DENVER’S MARIPOSA NEIGHBORHOOD
 Beginning: 17.5 acres, 182 homes
 “Concentrated poverty and physical distress”

72. Process
 “Cultural audit,” separate charrettes for
energy, transportation, health
 Community-majority steering committee

73. Plan Now Being Implemented
 457 homes
 Mixed use, mixed income
 Homes for seniors,
disabled
 Comprehensive green
infrastructure
 Complete streets
 Upgraded city park
 No displacement

74. Suburban Retrofit: Dublin, OH
 1980 population: 4000
 Today: 38,000
 Median family income:
$126,000
 More jobs than residents
 New hires each year: 5-8,000
 Housing demand: 1500 units,
next 5-7 years

76. London’s BedZED

77. BedZED Facts
 100 homes, offices for 100
workers
 Walkable, transit-rich
 64% reduction in driving
 60% reduction in energy use
 20% generated on-site,
biomass planned

78.  58% reduction in
water use
 60% recycling rate
 FSC-certified wood
 Influencing its
neighborhood

79. Resources

80. Please Visit My Blog:

81. Ecosystem Indicator Species
or natural habitat, it may
be a fish, or a bird.
or people habitat, it may
e seniors chatting on the
idewalk, or kids walking
to school.

82. People Habitat
It’s Not (Just) About Energy