NEW URBANISM NOW David Brower Center, Berkeley, Calfornia — Safeway No. 2912, Georgetown, Washington, D.C. — Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts — SCAD Museum of Art, Savanna, Georgia — Lafitte Housing, New Orleans, Louisiana — Wyvernwood Mixed-Use, Los Angeles, California — Town Center, Mount Rainier, Maryland — Verkykerskop Farming Town, South Africa — Vision for Berrien Springs, Michigan — And more... — Published 2012.0328
	HIGH-RISE SUSTAINABILITY A high-level assessment of the impact of the urban tower on the natural environment would conclude that low land use and possible higher density are the chief advantages, with high energy usage being the chief disadvantage. Concepts of density and of energy usage are relative, and should be examined by comparing high-rise buildings with their low- or mid-rise alternatives. — Published 2012.0104
	UP ON THE ROOF More than half of all the single-family homes in the United States were built in the last three decades of the 20th century, and it is estimated that half again of the current total number of dwellings — about 80 million — will need to be built in the next three decades of the 21st century. — Published 2011.0727
	DESIGN FOR FLOODING Floods are the most frequent natural disaster in the United States. One in three federal disaster declarations is related to flooding, many as a result of hurricanes affecting heavily populated U.S. coastlines. Flooding is not new. Some flooding is part of the natural hydrologic cycle and the sustenance it brings to life on Earth. — Published 2011.0119
	ON 'TRAVEL AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT' News flash: The distance between a residential development location and the metropolitan center is one of the strongest factors influencing how much residents will drive. The density of a neighborhood, in and of itself, turns out to be the weakest of the commonly considered "D" variables, key dimensions of the built environment that influence how — and how much — people move around. — Published 2010.0818
	WHAT GOES INTO GREEN? The American Institute of Architects has announced its top ten green projects for 2010. Sponsored by AIA's Committee on the Environment, and published in ArchitectureWeek No. 472, the award winners are each worthy of citation for excellence in internal design, in most cases reducing their environmental impacts significantly below those of similarly located but conventional buildings while also serving as teaching exemplars. So far, so good. — Published 2010.0512
	AIA HOUSING AWARDS 2010 The Safari Drive multifamily residential complex in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona, exemplifies a higher-density, pedestrian-scaled alternative to the exploding sprawl of greater Phoenix. Designed by The Miller Hull Partnership, it succeeds as design in the broadest sense: place-making that intertwines architecture, planning, and landscape. — Published 2010.0512
	CHRISTMAN BUILDING For the new Christman Company headquarters in downtown Lansing, Michigan, SmithGroup set out to design modern, high-end offices within a historic building. What resulted, somewhat surprisingly, was a sustainable exemplar. Christman, a Lansing-based construction company, had purchased a 1928 building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and set a modest goal for sustainable renovation: basic certification under LEED for Core & Shell. — Published 2009.1216
	PARKING GARAGE: GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE As we face up to the needs of climate protection over the next few years, we'll see that the decades-long trend of steadily increasing automobile vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. will be reversed for decades to come. Contemplating a nation, and ultimately a world, with declining total VMT, it's increasingly clear that henceforth, most construction of new auto infrastructure — almost any new lane-miles of highway, for instance — represents soon-stranded investment, at best. The parking garage may be an outstanding exception. As U.S. communities transition toward the more mixed-use, closer-in, denser development patterns that will support our restless lifestyles with less driving, "structured parking" can help finesse the fact that most of us will still be using cars for many years to come. — Published 2009.1202
	FUNDAMENTALS OF CONSTRUCTING SUSTAINABLY In the new fifth edition of Fundamentals of Building Construction, Allen and Iano set a new benchmark by incorporating sustainability issues into a mainstream construction textbook, section by section, as in this concise overview from the first chapter. We also look forward to a future edition of their outstanding book in which appropriate sustainability considerations have penetrated every topic and page. — the Editors — Published 2009.0408

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