Green Community: Check out this book!
A new book, Green Community, has been released by the National Building Museum and the American Planning Association. The publication is highly recommended for anyone that is interested in sustainability, conservation and preservation, as well as the overall impact of city/county density and transportation infrastructure.
Green Community includes essays, photographs and diagrams to help explain the concepts for creating a sustainable community. For those that want to experience the lessons beyond the printed word, the National Building Museum is touring with an exhibition, which is also titled “Green Community.”
The book was recently reviewed by the Federal Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Shaun Donovan:
“Today, more than any time in history, we live in a global economy where quality of place drives the free flow of capital. And as the lines between urban, suburban, and rural challenges blur, from poverty to housing affordability, strong neighborhoods are increasingly becoming a yardstick with which we measure America’s success. Green Community is a definitive work on the sustainability challenge, offering us a blueprint for integrated transportation, housing, and land-use development and catalyzing a new generation of metropolitan and rural decision making that builds a geography of opportunity for every American.”
The Green Communities exhibition is one of the first in the United States that is focused on creating/sustaining healthy communities. Smart developments including Atlantic Station, Highlands’ Garden Village, Greensburg, Arlington County, and Atlantic Station, are featured.
Walking the fine line towards a green community
The Green Community book explains both what a “green community is,” and also how to create one. Whether you are an elected official, or a boardmember in your local homeowners association, you can learn quite a bit! Becoming a green community not only takes planning, but also leadership and organization (and probably a lawyer or too!)
The National Building Museum’s website explains:
“The book and its essays focus on the interconnectivity of density and transportation, conservation and preservation, energy and resources, and local health and global health. The contributors represent a diverse range of backgrounds and perspectives, resulting in a multi-disciplinary collection of essays which examine the people and places of sustainable communities. This publication presents the opportunities and challenges for planning and designing sustainable communities, and demonstrates that creating sustainable communities is critical to the long-term health of our environment and our economy.”
Of course, learning how communities can be located, designed, and nurtured in ways to support these values, is key!
Check out this great new book, and the answers can be at hand.
Leave a Reply