Andres Duany, famed architect for the firm DPZ and co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), is becoming part of the solution to the crisis in Haiti.  He has designed a basic cabin concept that can be pre-fabricated and built within days to house Haitians that remain homeless from January’s earthquake.  The cabin can house eight individuals, incorporates lessons learned from the Katrina cottage, and is context sensitive to the Haitian culture.  InnoVida Holdings LLC of Miami has announced that they will open a factory in Haiti to build these houses and donate the first 1,000 homes.

Duany can be heard describing these homes on NPR’s Here and Now.

The current economic crisis offers a chance for a paradigm shift. We should not waste this opportunity by returning to the status quo that existed before the downturn or even pining for that unsustainable state. Instead, we should embrace rethinking our economy, and in particular our land use, development and construction policies.

We are already seeing some economic changes relating to the downturn. Prior to the economic freefall over the last year, savings rates had dwindled to literally nothing. With the modest level of recovery, some are bemoaning the lackluster spending on American consumers. What we are seeing is actually a rebound of more healthy savings rates rather than a continued hunger for excessive material goods fueled by debt financing. Count me as one who sees this as a long term win even if it means a slower recovery.

The downturn has had disparate impacts that in some markets are directly tied to land use policy. In urban style Arlington County, Virginia, the recession has certainly slowed business growth and hurt specific businesses. Overall, however, property values have dropped only very modestly in the midst of a global downturn. The 2009 budget actually called for a 4.4% budget increase while 2010 recommended a very modest 1.3% decline. These budget estimates reflect a modest drop in property tax revenues associated with a modest property tax increase and moderate value decreases.

By comparison, Prince William and Loudoun Counties experienced spectacular numerical growth fueled by huge sprawling single family subdivisions which feed into clogged arterial highways. These regions have suffered precipitous drops in property values and high foreclosure rates. For example, in 2006, Prince William recorded a total of 249 foreclosures. In 2008, this number jumped to 6,549. These jurisdictions are now struggling to shift their focus and development approach.

Transit oriented dense development has demonstrated a more sustainable environmental footprint and economic framework in challenging times. This intersection of economic and environmental sustainability makes the discussions blooming at places like Aribra and Build2Sustain so exciting and timely. Sustainability requires both economic and environmental consideration and in the end, both are truly symbiotic.

On one level, I see these changes and events as looking forward to the future. On another very different level, I see them as harkening to the better part of our nation’s past. I was raised in large part by my grandparents, children of the depression. My grandfather served in both World War II and the Korean War. Their generation, rightfully called the Greatest Generation, worked, fought, scrimped, and challenged our nation to success. It was these qualities of talent and character, coupled with a wealth of natural resources and a structural backbone of democracy and freedom that constitute what I associate with the phrase “American Exceptionalism”.

Over the last few decades, I believe we have strayed far from the ideals of the Greatest Generation. Deficit financing of excessive consumer goods does not match that generation’s value system. Folks who trumpet the theory that American Exceptionalism means we are “the best” and therefore can swing our global weight around do not get it either. It is not that we ever were or thought we were better than anyone else, but rather that the Greatest Generation did what they had to do and got it done. In fact, this co-opting of the Greatest Generation’s spirit in political discourse runs counter to the very concepts of humility and service that ran at the core of the Greatest Generation.

I think about these themes quite a bit in my daily life, my legal practice, and talks amongst friends. I was so struck when my friend and twitter pal James Bedell recently commented on this very theme in a post The End of American Exceptionalism. If this concept is about permanent US world domination, that is not reality in my book: what goes up, must eventually come down. I grew up pondering the theory of cost of empire and the fall of the Roman Empire. I was part of the guinea pig test history classes for Paul Kennedy’s widely respected The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, a tremendous book that still rings true decades later.

In the end, I agree with James that the world hungers for, loves and purchases our “culture”, but I believe to my core that what is perceived as American culture is part of the problem and not the solution moving forward. American Exceptionalism started and maintained from a very different set of core values, and those core values propelled us in large part to our success. In the end, it is about a more modest set of assumptions and expectations, values based on service and leadership rather than consumption and domination. These values in turn fit directly into developing a more sustainable model of growth and the economy moving forward. These values are ours to embody and demonstrate or to ignore and discard, so in the end, the question of whether American Exceptionalism is alive is up to us.

From Science Daily | Reducing Greenhouse Gases May Not Be Enough To Slow Climate Change

Georgia Tech City and Regional Planning Professor Brian Stone is publishing a paper in the December edition of Environmental Science and Technology that suggests policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation and urbanization on climate change, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Stone’s paper, as the international community meets in Copenhagen in December to develop a new framework for responding to climate change, policymakers need to give serious consideration to broadening the range of management strategies beyond greenhouse gas reductions alone.

“Across the U.S. as a whole, approximately 50 percent of the warming that has occurred since 1950 is due to land use changes (usually in the form of clearing forest for crops or cities) rather than to the emission of greenhouse gases,” said Stone. “Most large U.S. cities, including Atlanta, are warming at more than twice the rate of the planet as a whole — a rate that is mostly attributable to land use change. As a result, emissions reduction programs — like the cap and trade program under consideration by the U.S. Congress — may not sufficiently slow climate change in large cities where most people live and where land use change is the dominant driver of warming.”

According to Stone’s research, slowing the rate of forest loss around the world, and regenerating forests where lost, could significantly slow the pace of global warming.

“Treaty negotiators should formally recognize land use change as a key driver of warming,” said Stone. “The role of land use in global warming is the most important climate-related story that has not been widely covered in the media.”

Stone recommends slowing what he terms the “green loss effect” through the planting of millions of trees in urbanized areas and through the protection and regeneration of global forests outside of urbanized regions. Forested areas provide the combined benefits of directly cooling the atmosphere and of absorbing greenhouse gases, leading to additional cooling. Green architecture in cities, including green roofs and more highly reflective construction materials, would further contribute to a slowing of warming rates. Stone envisions local and state governments taking the lead in addressing the land use drivers of climate change, while the federal government takes the lead in implementing carbon reduction initiatives, like cap and trade programs.

“As we look to address the climate change issue from a land use perspective, there is a huge opportunity for local and state governments,” said Stone. “Presently, local government capacity is largely unharnessed in climate management structures under consideration by the U.S. Congress. Yet local governments possess extensive powers to manage the land use activities in both the urban and rural areas.”

Full | Reducing Greenhouse Gases May Not Be Enough To Slow Climate Change

“Commercial real estate is perhaps the most compelling investment opportunity in the United States right now, it is a $5 trillion business where one percent is minority.” Quinton Primo III of Capri Capital Partners L.L.C. “  ~ from Black Enterprise

Under Construction

The real estate industry, from a development perspective, is singly the least diverse industry on the planet.  You could also say one of the most vital. There are proportionally more minority accountants, doctors and lawyers than minority management-level commercial real estate professionals (less than 1% of 125,000 – source REAP).

I think part of that rests in the fact that it’s primarily controlled by a few white males. Literally, a small fraternity controls the majority of the world’s real estate. There is some historical significance to this as most property was held by white owners and has been passed down throughout generations. It largely remains that way today. One percent of real estate wealth is held by minorities. No wonder heavily populated urban areas suffer  steeper declines compared to more diverse cities. Women are also significantly underrepresented in commercial real estate as well.

The essence of real estate development is identifying a need and filling it. Whenever I hear someone say, “This area needs a supermarket,” or “We really need a drug store,” I can only think to myself how many would-be developers exist who could benefit from mentoring.  It’s a catch 22: you need minorities in development to mentor other minorities in development, but if the numbers of minorities aren’t increasing, the gap will only continue to widen. By 2030, it’s projected that America will have to build another 200 billion square feet of space to accommodate growth for an expected 70 million, and a great majority of that growth will be from non-whites.

As urban renewal becomes more pronounced, we’ll need a cross-section of real estate minds to address our ever-changing demographics. Chances are your community – no matter the cultural makeup – was developed by someone who does not look like you or share the same value systems you do; a need was identified and filled. Many communities are accustomed to being part of a charette. However, what communities are not used to is being apart of the implementation process once suggestions are made and adopted by a given city.

I think we should inspire, educate and empower community level leaders with the resources they need to redevelop their own communities. The response was quite astounding on Ava Bromberg’s new model that seeks to leverage strip malls into vehicles of economic activity. For example, Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC) is the largest community development organization of its kind and demonstrates the power of community engagement – they have a portfolio of over $350,000,000.

Detour: Level Playing Field

The need is much greater than many realize but the conversation has largely been non-existent because so few are affected. I’ve chaired several industry committees and have witnessed, personally, the underrepresentation of women and minorities within the industry. On any given day, you’ll find a number of minorities who practice residential real estate. They often lack the knowledge on how to structure projects and thus pass them on to someone who has the knowledge capital to deliver a project. This isn’t an indictment, we need skilled professionals in real estate but the lack of information sharing has reached critical mass.  Just as social media has allowed communities to be formed online, I believe communities can be rebuilt offline utilizing a similar platform – create the conversations, share solutions and implement the best ideas.

I’m pulling back the curtain to say the secret is out – anyone can develop real estate, it’s not an elite club meant for a few. The question then becomes a matter of how to connect the many dots. I’ve met with some prominent minority developers with businesses that range from a few million to a few billion dollars, but none of them offered solutions to lift up the next generation of real estate leadership. Social media has allowed for the brokering of ideas a world over; Aribra seeks to accomplish a similar feat in the built space. Is this about economic benefit? Absolutely not. It’s about taking our communities back. A lot of people bemoan capitalist organizations that effectively strip other countries of their natural resources. This could happen for any number of reasons; some are political, some are not. Whatever the reason, there is no need for our communities to be exploited by developers, most who don’t live there and are solely looking for economic returns instead of leveraging already existing assets.

The following are organizations that have sought to address the issue of diversity in commercial real estate.  I’ve found them to have successful inclusion programs.

a. CCIM’s Cultural Diversity Education Program (CDEP)

b. Project REAP [Real Estate Associate Program]

c. Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW)

It’s our time.