Urging communities to build new residential and commercial structures using green design principles to benefit the environment is a fair argument — but what about when the goal is for properties to look pretty? Clearly, making new construction attractive is as much a goal — if not more — for developers as energy efficiency and using ecologically-conscious materials may be. Which is why it’s nice to see that the recent San Diego chapter of the American Institute of Architects awards reflected an emphasis on green and aesthetic design. The San Diego Union-Tribune recently reported that the 2007 awards were in…

Chicago’s first green residential tower aims to be the country’s most sustainable, the Chicago Tribune reported on Sunday. The 62-story building, 340 on the Park, is expected to achieve a silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating, LEED’s third highest. It’s a commendable intent for the building, whose first goal seemed to be luxury living. When construction on the Randolph Street complex began in 2005, early designs revealed that 340 would be an elegant complex; unit floors are said to be bamboo, not wood; views include Grant Park and Millennium Park and Lake Michigan. Three bedroom units with…

Real estate prices in California have skyrocketed in recent years, leaving many would-be homeowners in the dust. This is especially true in San Diego, where high housing costs and relatively low wages have combined to make it the sixth least affordable major metropolitan area in the country, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Cost-efficient family housing is a real concern for the area. However, one company found a way to make affordable housing even more affordable — by using solar energy to offset electricity bills. Fairbanks Ridge, a 204-unit affordable living apartment complex in San Diego, has more…

You’re not imagining things: Those really are cranes down the street, and you really did see a sign posted for a new development two blocks over. But if business is still booming as far as building is concerned, why all the media panic over the decline of the housing market? Because the decline doesn’t just stop at — or with — your front door. And like it or not, the market is declining: In a July 18, 2007 article on the housing market, Bloomberg News points out that the properties are still being built — not, perhaps, in the fervor…

Orlando is no stranger to expansion. When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, it brought enormous economic growth to the region. Growth was the precise reason that cartoon and fantasy pioneer Walt Disney had selected Orlando as a location for his new theme park. The Orlando area was a place where the development could grow without fear it would be eclipsed by urban growth as Disneyland, Walt’s first Californian theme park, had been. Disneyland was just 400 acres; Disney World’s original land purchase included 28,000 acres, later developed into hotels, campgrounds, shopping centers and more. Disney World’s rapid spreading foreshadowed…