sustainable communities - benfield

People Habitat

© 2012, NRDCKaid Benfield, NRDC

Part 1

Basic Point #1:It’s Not Really About Energy

© 2012, NRDC

Basic Point #2:Think Holistically

It’s always about more than we think.

© 2012, NRDC

Basic Point #3:Holistic Thinking Changes the Result

© 2012, NRDC

Walk Score: 18Walk Score: 95

Basic Point #4:We Don’t Need to Do It All at Once

© 2012, NRDC

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

Part 2

Next 25 (or so) Years:

People: +70m

Homes: +50m

Nonresidential: +78b sq ft

Half our built environment will be new

© 2012, NRDC

San Diego Metro Area

Population 2009‐2048:  +42%© 2012, NRDC

We Need to Get This Right

© 2012, NRDC

What’s Our Recent History?

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A. Land Consumption

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© 2012, NRDC

Vulnerable Resource Lands

B. Resource Use: Waste

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C. Carbon Emissions

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RESIDENT. 20%

COMMERCIAL 19%

TRANSPORT 34%

INDUSTRIAL25%

0

500,000,000

1,000,000,000

1,500,000,000

2,000,000,000

2,500,000,000

3,000,000,000

1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Year

Mile

s (in

thou

sand

s)

0

5,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

25,000,000

Boa

rdin

gs

VehicleMilesTraveled

TransitBoardings

Driving & Transit Rates

© 2012, NRDC

Frequency of Transit Use, by Country

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Walking, by Country

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1990:

2006:

© 2012, NRDC

Consequences Are Not Limited to Land & Emissions

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Is This What We Really Wanted?

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And Why Would They Walk?

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Warehouse? Mall? Prison?

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“Get In, Get It Done, Get Out!”

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Walking to school is illegal here

It’s Not Just Kids

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Sheesh, Kaid – We Thought You Were Going to Be Upbeat . . .

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Part 3

How to Do Better

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INSIDE CITY LIMITS: 420,000 people 132 sq mi

METRO AREA: 5,269,000 people 8,376 sq mi

© 2012, NRDC

Two Scales Matter Most:First, the Region

Good Regional Thinking Means Developing Only In the Right Places

© 2012, NRDC

© 2012, NRDC

Revitalization Is Almost Always a Right Place: Reason #1

Reason #2

© 2012, NRDC

ooooooo

ooooooo

Marietta

Roswell

Lawrenceville

Conyers

Jonesboro

Implications for CO2

Transport.CO2/HH:

< 3.3 tons/yr

Transport.CO2/HH:> 8.6 tons/yr

© 2012, NRDC

Antioch

Hillsboro

Location Matters Even if Everyone Drives

Both auto-dependent Same daily vehicle

trips per capita Hillsboro has 25%

lower VMT Why? Shorter driving

distances

© 2012, NRDC

Other Things Matter, TooBut Not as Much as Where We Grow

© 2012, NRDC

This Requires a Broader View of “Green” Buildings

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

BuildingEnergy

TransportEnergy

kBtu/ft2/yr, Average Office Building

© 2012, NRDC

A Green Building In the Wrong Place May Not Be So Green

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The Other Scale that Matters Most:Green Neighborhoods

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A FRAME FOR GREEN NEIGHBORHOODS:

LEED for Neighborhood Development

Where: smart location & linkage What: neighborhood pattern & design How: green infrastructure & buildings

© 2012, NRDC

A Bit More About Location

SLL p1, c1,3© 2012, NRDC

Strong Public TransitHomes near strong transit generate only half the peak-hour auto trips that are otherwise predicted

SLL c3© 2012, NRDC

But Avoid Sensitive Areas

SLL p2-5, c6-9© 2012, NRDC

What: Neighborhood Pattern & Design (NPD)

© 2012, NRDC

1. Create Walkable Density

II

10 homes/ac 22 homes/ac

NPD p2, c2© 2012, NRDC

Density Helps Water Quality, Too

II

Stormwater Runoff Per Capita vs Density

1/acre 10/acre 70/acre

But It Needn’t Be High Density

© 2012, NRDC

Diminishing Environmental Returns Above 30-40 units/acre

22 homes per acre in DC

I

I

Red marks: 30du/ac

© 2012, NRDC

2. Connected & Walkable StreetsThe strongest indicator of walking2d strongest indicator of driving

NPD c6© 2012, NRDC

3. Things to Walk To

© 2012, NRDC NPD c3

Nearby shops increase walking 25%

Residents of mixed-use neighborhoods weigh 10 lbs less than residents of sprawl

4. Bring Back Walkable Schools

NPD c15© 2012, NRDC

5. Diverse Housing Types, Prices

NPD c4, 11© 2012, NRDC

6. Neighborhood Parks & Gardens

NPD c9,10,13© 2012, NRDC

How: Green Infrastructure& Buildings(GIB)

© 2012, NRDC

1. Energy & Water Efficiency

GIB c1-4© 2012, NRDC

2. On-Site Renewables

GIB c1-4© 2012, NRDC

3. Preservation & Adaptation

GIB c5,6© 2012, NRDC

4. Stormwater & Wastewater Management

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

Room for Improvementin LEED-ND

Existing neighborhoods Historic preservation Affordability Parks, green space Health Community engagement

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

Part 4

A Look at Some Leaders

Population: +47%

Developed land: +14%

GHG emissions: +13%

T

H

North America’s Best Regional Plan

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

Kaid’s FavoriteSmart Growth Project

The Atlanta Beltline

Glenwood Parkmer brownfield, 28 acres, 350 green homes, 70K commercial

O

Rockford, Illinois

Largest IL city outside Chicago metro

Pop. 153K; metro 348K Historically dependent on

manufacturing High unemployment, low

education

“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

State-of-the-Art PlanningDENVER’S MARIPOSA NEIGHBORHOOD

Beginning: 17.5 acres, 182 homes

“Concentrated poverty and physical distress”

Process

“Cultural audit,” separate charrettes for energy, transportation, health

Community-majority steering committee140 it ti

Plan Now Being Implemented

457 homes

Mixed use, mixed income

Homes for seniors, disabled

Comprehensive green infrastructure

Complete streets

Upgraded city park

No displacement

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

London’s BedZED

100 homes, offices for 100 workers

Walkable, transit-rich

64% reduction in driving

60% reduction in energy use

20% generated on-site, biomass planned

BedZED Facts

58% reduction in water use

60% recycling rate FSC-certified wood Influencing its

neighborhood

Resources

http //bit l /LEED NDg ide

Please Visit My Blog:

www kaidbenfield com

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.

People HabitatIt’s Not (Just) About Energy