sustainable communities - benfield
DESCRIPTION
Kaid Benfield, Dir. Sustainable Communities - NRDCKaid 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.TRANSCRIPT
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?
© 2012, NRDC
A. Land Consumption
© 2012, NRDC
© 2012, NRDC
Vulnerable Resource Lands
B. Resource Use: Waste
© 2012, NRDC
C. Carbon Emissions
© 2012, NRDC
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
© 2012, NRDC
Walking, by Country
© 2012, NRDC
1990:
2006:
© 2012, NRDC
Consequences Are Not Limited to Land & Emissions
© 2012, NRDC
Is This What We Really Wanted?
© 2012, NRDC
And Why Would They Walk?
© 2012, NRDC
Warehouse? Mall? Prison?
© 2012, NRDC
“Get In, Get It Done, Get Out!”
© 2012, NRDC
Walking to school is illegal here
It’s Not Just Kids
© 2012, NRDC
Sheesh, Kaid – We Thought You Were Going to Be Upbeat . . .
© 2012, NRDC
Part 3
How to Do Better
© 2012, NRDC
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
© 2012, NRDC
The Other Scale that Matters Most:Green Neighborhoods
© 2012, NRDC
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