It was inevitable.
California Planning & Development Report has been writing about trends in the field for more than two decades. The suburban development explosion of the 1980s, followed by the real estate market implosion of the 1990s. Ballot-box zoning. Redevelopment success, abuse and reform, followed by more redevelopment success, abuse and reform. Mello-Roos financing. Linkage fees. Economic development incentives. No new schools. The 55% threshold and new schools everywhere. New urbanism. The affordable housing crunch. Smart growth. More ballot-box zoning. Condo-mania. The return to downtown. Regional growth blueprints.
And now: Green development. As I noted two months ago, and as Bill Fulton pointed out in November, green — or sustainable — development is just about all that people in the industry are talking about these days. Is this simply a flavor-of-the-month trend, or is it truly a long-term change in policy and practice? That's one of the questions we'll be addressing in a special January edition of CP&DR devoted to all things green in the world of planning and development.
Contributing Editor John Krist will explain what the U.S. Green Building Council is, and what the terms LEED and LEED-ND really mean. We'll talk about the potential influence of the state's greenhouse gas law (AB 32) on land use planning. I'll have a look at local sustainable development policies. Bill Fulton will discuss the role of planners in the green building movement. Morris Newman will examine a purported green development. And we'll have plenty of other green development news.
Our special green development issue is scheduled to go in the mail to subscribers just after the first of the year. Of course, subscribers will be able to read all of the stories on-line before the print edition arrives.
We're still doing the heavy lifting for the edition. But if you'd like to add a little bit to our load, feel free to drop us a note or simply add a comment right here.
- Paul Shigley
