OC Green Solutions Festival

Where: The Great Park, Irvine, CAJune 5-6, 2010

The Green Solutions Expo is the main source for everything green and eco-friendly. New to the green movement? This is the perfect place for all members of the movement, novices and experienced. We share great tips, ideas, information, product information and much more.
One of our most unique offerings is an interactive green community, the Green Solutions Expo Social Network! The Green Solutions Expo is an avid believer in reducing waste in any way possible, and being paperless is one of the many ways to do just that. In order to reduce our carbon footprint we offer anything you might need right here on our website.
Among our many features you will find are; news, information, comments, and special promotions for the Green Solutions Expo show. Looking for other ways to communicate, find out about being green, and staying on top of the emerging trends? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and stay connected.
Looking for new and innovative ways to stay green while you travel? The Green Solutions Expo has all the information you need.
Are you trying to raise your kids to be eco friendly and green? The Green Solutions Expo has the resources, tips and information you need to help make this happen including how to cook organically for you family. In addition to the above-mentioned features, the Green Solutions Expo additionally has "Green TV" where you can view products and informercials relevant to the green movement.
Whether you are looking for upcoming green events, tips on how to be more environmentally friendly, how to raise your kids accustomed to the green movement, or whatever it may be, the Green Solutions Expo is the perfect place.

Is REDEVELOPMENT the future for Mission Viejo?

In a recent article titled: Urban Core Growing Faster Than Outer 'Burbs, By Jenny Sullivan on Builder Online the EPA study finds that permits in central cities and first-ring suburban neighborhoods are outpacing greenfield developments.
Smart growth proponents have long predicted that the ever-greater expansion of suburbia would one day reach its limit, prompting a renewed interest in central city living. “Residential Construction Trends in America’s Metropolitan Regions," a new report from the EPA, suggests that this trend is well underway, with residential permits in downtown areas and close-in suburbs more than doubling since 2000 in 26 of the nation's largest metro regions.

The shift has been especially pronounced in some big cities, such as New York, which saw its share of regional permits increase from 15% in the early 1990s to 48% by 2008. In Chicago, housing permits inside city limits rose from 7% to 27% over the same time period.

Rapid revitalization is sweeping many smaller cities as well. In Portland’s downtown neighborhoods and close-in 'burbs, permit activity jumped from 9% to 26% over the last two decades. Home building in Atlanta’s core neighborhoods grew similarly, from 4% to 14%, according to the analysis, which examined Census residential permit data for the nation’s 50 largest metro regions over 19 years. In this examination, researchers compared the number of permits issued by central cities and core suburban communities with the number issued in suburban and exurban communities.

They found that a geographic shift in residential permits was indeed occurring, with the most notable spurts in urban redevelopment over the past five years. Data indicates that this trend is continuing in spite of the real estate slump, and the study's findings suggest that urban revitalization may be intensifying as local and regional jurisdictions implement smart growth measures. National policies also are likely to support this trend as the Obama administration’s Sustainable Communities Initiative begins to gain traction.

“When you look at the regions that are really embracing walkability, investing in transit, and thinking about natural resources protection, these are the regions that are weathering the downturn best,” Shelley Poticha, director of HUD’s newly-created Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, told BUILDER in a recent interview. “I think we’re going to see more and more regions reinvesting in their downtown areas, in suburban town centers, and in neighborhood centers,” she said.

In medium-sized cities, some of the most dramatic shifts have occurred in regions that have aggressively promoted growth boundaries and urban redevelopment, such as Portland, Denver, Sacramento, and Atlanta. In larger metro regions such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles, “market fundamentals are shifting toward redevelopment even in the absence of formal policies and programs,” the study's authors noted.

Some experts say economic and demographic factors such as constrained consumer finances, smaller households, and changing lifestyle preferences are driving increased demand for urban-style neighborhoods. “Consumers want ‘value retention’ and this portends a shift to closer-in communities and infill sites closer to transit,” says Ed McMahon, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute.

Still, the infill frenzy has yet to significantly alter America’s housing landscape. New residential construction projects continue to move forward on greenfields at the urban fringe in many markets, the study found. And even in cities with significant urban revitalization, this market segment continues to represent only a small slice of the housing pie; urban core neighborhoods still account for fewer than half of all new residential units in most regions.

Where exactly the pendulum is, and how far it could swing remains a point of debate. “If you believe the economist Richard Florida, every phase or epoch of capitalism has its own distinct geography, or what geographers call the ‘spatial fix’ for the era,” says McMahon. “Suburbanization was the spatial fix for the consumer/industrial age. The economy is different now. It no longer involves simply making and moving things. Instead, it depends on generating and transporting ideas. This occurs in cities and other places of density. Low-density sprawl is ill-fitted to a creative, post, industrial economy. We are seeing the beginning of the reshaping of the landscape to fit the post industrial economy.” end of article

So, it sounds like Mission Viejo should likely expect redevelopment to increase in the near future. With that being said, I think it is more important now than ever to encourage the City and local groups to embrace this new trend and participate in the shaping of its community. How can we get our voices heard???


Images courtesy of: SRF Consulting & Farm2

Planning for Twenty10

Happy Holidays to all of you!

As 2009 draws to a close, it brings to mind the many successes and continuing challenges for the Placemaking movement throughout the year.
There is no doubt that Placemaking is expanding exponentially around the world. There is mounting interest from professionals and citizens who want to learn more about how they can make a difference in their communities on issues such as livability, sustainability and community well-being.
In both my personal and professional life this year, I learned a great deal about how people envision their communities evolving for the future. This has spurred discussions about planning ides to be put to practice in 2010, which will highlight four principle agendas that are needed to transform cities and towns:

1) Toward an Architecture of Place - Public institutions such as museums, government buildings, libraries and others can become important anchors for civic activity in every city by assuming a broader role within the community and adapting and evolving their buildings to host a broader range of activities.

2) Building Community through Transportation - The planning and design of transportation networks and streets can be reshaped to encourage economic vitality, civic engagement, human health, and environmental sustainability, in addition to serving peoples' mobility needs.

3) Public Markets and Local Economies - Public markets and farmers markets not only create dynamic community gathering places, but they can spin off a myriad of other community benefits - from revitalizing downtowns, to bringing fresh, healthy food to low income neighborhoods, to creating new business opportunities for immigrant entrepreneurs.

4) Creating Public Multi-use Destinations - In the competitive globalizing economy, great cities are becoming defined more and more by their great public destinations-user friendly, lively squares, waterfronts, great commercial streets, markets or combinations of all of these. Placemaking provides the way for cities to redefine their vision around creating or enhancing these destinations.

Seeing that Placemaking is the Talk of the Town, together we can begin to frame a discussion about creating a more effective planning process for public spaces. My goal is to create a more thorough process in which cities can foster not only successful public spaces but also a stronger leadership within communities to continually maintain and improve these spaces. Great public spaces require strong leadership groups that make the community vision a reality so that little by little, the public begins to "own" the space.

Photos courtesy of: Discovery Green Houston & Photos taken by author
Some text courtesy of: PPS

What would COMMUNITY DRIVEN development look like?

Starting with a development team that is dedicated to community building through cultural development. A team that ensures the long term sustainability of every project through hands on operations and the ongoing programming of local art, cultural and community driven events. This daily involvement plays a large role in the continued growth and vitality of community driven projects. A development team that is constantly growing relationships through participation and support of communtiy festivals, gatherings, events, arts groups, rotary groups and scholarship funding. A development team that is a long term holder and prides itself on becoming a meaningful part of the community fabric.

Images Courtesy of: Mission Viejo Life

Vision for Future Developement

Although most of Southern California is not as urban as many of the metropolitan areas, as time goes by we may be seeing Southern California becoming more dense. This is the type of thinking for future development that will provide smart growth.

Retail + Workforce Housing + Transit Oriented Development + Sustainable Design x Green Technology = Wilson Yard’s Vision for the Future



What the developer requested: a mixed-use development on a wedge-shaped former rail yard site, including a vertical urban Target store, affordable and senior housing, new Aldi store, ground-floor retail and offices on upper floors.

What the design team responded with is not just Transit-Oriented Development-based mixed use integrated urban shopping, nor only a new Target store anchoring an environmentally-friendly, multi-use development project – through admittedly it is both of these. What they created – with shopping and a little political finagling – is nothing short of a complete transformation of a tired neighborhood into a thriving, living, breathing community.

What they created is Wilson Yard.


With Wilson Yard the future isn’t tomorrow or next year – the future is now. To evidence this you need not look any further than the Transit-Oriented Development: a vibrant, livable, compact and walkable shopping environment centered on high-quality train and bus systems – all perfectly attuned to our times.

Wilson Yard works on many levels. By incorporating the best tenets and practices of urban planning and design, sustainable design, affordable workforce housing and green technology, the project achieves something more, beyond the realization of a well-designed retail project. The development ultimately completes and heals the site, neighborhood and community where it resides. It’s a case of the universal in the particular. By providing exactly what is needed at the right time and in the right place you end up envisioning the shopping environment of the future.



Covering a full city block, the resulting project is a veritable Rubik’s cube offering shoppers and pedestrians a continuous, seamless shopping environment of integrated interlocking components.
Future-looking without being futuristic, Wilson Yard is an out-of-the-Big-Box, innovative idea that progresses everyone’s current understanding of what the shopping experience can ultimately be.

Anchor: The retail anchor, a new 180,000 square-foot two level Target store with an energy-saving green roof.

The Matrix: 25,000 square feet of additional retail – forming the proverbial simple line of outwardly facing stores and office space – here marrying the project’s anchor with the residences along an attractive new streetscape.

Urban Density: Two rental buildings with affordable units including a mixed-income building accommodating 84 families in one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and an accompanying seniors complex with 99 affordable one-bedroom unites.

Green Technology: In keeping with Mayor Daley’s ongoing commitment to make Chicago a showpiece city for green technology, the Wilson Yard project will be certified LEED SILVER, the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of green buildings by the U.S. Green Building Council. The project’s sustainable components include green roofs and a solar-reflective roofing system for the residential buildings, collection of storm water and controlled release of waste water, a new green space to serve as the outdoor campus for a neighboring elementary school, and reclaimed parking space beneath the CTA ‘L’ tracks.

Our futuristic vision of the retail real estate industry? It’s being built right here today.


The above project is currently being developed and was designed by FitzGerald Associates based in Chicago.

Fun with Chalk

"We don't inherit this planet from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children".


The City hosted the 11th Annual Fun with Chalk event over the weekend and had nearly 9,000 visits over the course of the event. This type of event is excellent in engaging the community; residents not only view and discuss, many of them participate.

Messaging through art is a powerful tool.


Express yourself. Kids participating with their own square.


Involving the community is vital and engaging.

Art has no borders.

Art is open for discussion...

Thank you to the City for hosting a great event!

Photos taken by author.

Simon Malls looks to engage the community

In an attempt to create buzz around its properties, Simon Property Group Inc., owner of the Shops at Mission Viejo has put in place a marketing plan that will include hosting 11,000 events this year at its various locations.

A release about the planned events outlined a couple programs that will be held throughout 2009. Simon Fashion Now will showcase the newest fashion trends. Kidgits Eco-community will teach parents and their children how to be eco-friendly in today’s environment. Simon Grassroots Programs will be community-based activities like career fairs and charity fundraisers.

Read more at Globe St.

I think it is great to see their awareness about their impact on the community. Looking back to the evolution of the mall, these were the heart of the community. Today, the poor design of massive blocky architecture which turns it's back to their external facade and then surrounded by a sea of asphalt; has caught up to them over recent years. They are failing to compete with the newer retail destinations which seem to be woven into the fabric of the community by focusing on pedestrian friendly and engaging experiences. Hopefully these operators will see this reality during these waning times and start planning to reinvent themselves to be competitive again in the reatil world and offer what the community is looking for.

Recent improvements at the Shops at MV replaced turf with drought tolerant planting which is a good step in the right direction to be more eco-friendly!

The Phenomenon of Dying Malls

American malls have been around for less than a century, but their influence on our culture has been amazing. However, even in prosperous times, distressed malls have been a persistent problem, as well as a point of intrigue in the suburban landscape. The current economic slump has magnified the problems that ailing malls have been battling for years, or even decades.

The rapid development of North American suburbs resulted in a rush to build malls. Most developers assumed that if their mall was newer and larger than the competition then they would make money, and for the most part they did. But what many developers failed to consider or neglected to care about was what happens to their project when the next mall is built. The blight that is left behind when one fails is a weight on the community. Lost tax revenue and jobs, increased vandalism and crime and lower property values are just a few of the problems a dead mall creates.

While dying malls are not a new phenomenon, their sustainability is something developers should consider. The dominance of the fashion, food-court and family-focused mall is ending. The good news is that no new enclosed malls have opened in the U.S. since 2006.

Vacant malls, strip center shopping centers and big box stores have already been redeveloped into more sustainable, less auto-dependent places more in sync with today’s demographics. Depending on the specifics of each site, we can expect to see future failed malls re-inhabited, re-greened, or retrofitted. Essentially malls can be repositioned into what a community needs. When a mall dies, many options are on the table. Redevelopment into a more sustainable mixed use center is often a good solution if the real estate is valuable. They have the advantages of an already existing infrastructure and usually are located on major transportation routes. They should be regarded as a potential asset, much as you would look at well-located unimproved land, or a deserted warehouse or office district in a city center.

This kind of recycling will be particularly useful in suburbs, as they develop more “urban’ amenities” — like interesting restaurants, live music and local festivals. By redoing the mall, this can be accomplished without urban “densification” and retain low-density environments of single-family homes preferred by the vast majority of Americans. Sometimes dead malls find new life as colleges, government buildings, branch libraries, spaces for nonprofit arts groups, places of worship, car dealerships and community centers that can host a variety of events. Most times, if the building is cheaply constructed, and neglected for years, the only viable option is demolition. In some of the more dense communities, this will provide an opportunity to repair the regional landscape by turning them back to open space

What should never be an option is to allow the building to sit neglected for years. Although it may be sad to see a place with so many memories bulldozed, there isn’t much future for an abandoned generic suburban shopping mall. The current crop of dying malls are by no means the end of the shopping mall. Retail and shopping are too integral a part of American life.

The biggest long-term challenge to malls isn’t economic. It’s environmental. Right now, consumers can’t afford all the stuff we used to buy. But in the long run, the planet can’t afford all the stuff we do buy. So finding a business model that’s economically viable and environmentally sensitive shold be a goal for all new (and repurposing) mall developers.

So going forward, developers and mall operators need to recognize that the shopping mall of the future can’t simply be a nucleus of stores surrounded by a sea of asphalt with a ring of highway around it. They need to hire talented suburban planners, architects, and landscape architects whom will encourage developing and/or transforming shopping centers into dynamic destinations that are woven into the fabric of the community. Developers should also strive to create malls that offer a place for people to socialize, not simply to buy. While no one likes to see businesses fail, dead malls provide great opportunities for communities to redevelop in healthy ways. Now is the time for them to remove the regulatory obstacles to retrofitting.

Here are some examples fo successful re-use.

Belmar in Lakewood, Colo.

Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Fla.

Bella Terra in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Photos courtesy of:

Chris Pixel

Xmelinda

ThePiratesDilemma.com

Trekearth.com

Huntingtonbeachevents.com

Epa.gov

Some text courtesy of:

DeadMall.com

OC MAYORS FORUM

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Come meet with these municipal "CEOs" and share a dialogue with them about their vision for their cities in these challenging times.

There are many changes occurring over the planning and development landscape that are affecting the private sector these days. Cities are starting to feel the downturn in the economy pinch their budgets and services, too. The ULI is one of the few organizations that can bring the public and private sectors together to talk about issues that are affecting us all.

• Did you know Mission Viejo is reinventing retail? The Shops at Mission Mall boast the largest solar installation of any U.S mall.
• Do you know Laguna Niguel residents are known for preferring to drive to work (source: American Community Survey)? How will this impact the city's plans to focus on redevelopment around the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink station?
• Did you know Orange, Tustin and Laguna Niguel are ranked among 11 of the 34 cities in Orange County as the least costly to do business in (source: Rose Institute, Claremont McKenna College, 12/19/2008)?
• Did you know more young people, ages 24-35 are leaving Orange County today than any other age group (source: OCBC). Mayor Cavecche speaks of "handing off our legacy for future generations that will call Orange home" in her recent State of the City speech. How does a city attract and keep its young residents today? Ex: Are Chapman students staying to live and work in Orange after they graduate?

Thursday, April 16, 2009 7:30 am to 9:30 am First American Title Company 5 First American Way Garden Room #5 Santa Ana

For more information, call 800-321-5011 and mention #81230909 or go to the ULI website.

How to create a culture of walking...

"Communities have a right to up-to-date, good quality, accessible information on where they can walk and the quality of the experience. People should be given opportunities to celebrate and enjoy walking as part of their everyday social, cultural and political life".

The trails in Mission Viejo are great for leisure and recreation, but not everyone lives like this 'Super Mom', out blazing the Oso Creek Trail for a little exercise. For the rest of us, we need to be coaxed into exercise to the point that we don't even know we are exercising. By creating enhanced walking experiences from desirable place to desirable place, can be that coaxing element.

Currently, when walking around Mission Viejo, we are offered the streets as our main connection element. The 5' wide curb adjacent sidewalk, next to a tiny and poorly maintained landscape setback, adjacent to a sea of asphalt at our underwhelming retail centers is not exactly a enhanced walking experience. Nor is it comfortable to traverse across the bridges in this city where you constantly feel like your going to be run over by a car.

So, what actions can be taken?
What we (the City staff and council, current property owners and incoming developers, and residents) need to do is:

• Actively encourage all members of the community to walk whenever and wherever they can as a part of their daily lives by developing regular creative, targeted information, in a way that responds to their personal needs and engages personal support.
  
• Create a positive image of walking by celebrating walking as part of cultural heritage and as a cultural event, for example, in architecture, art-exhibitions, theatres, literature readings, photography and street animation.


• Provide coherent and consistent information and signage systems to support exploration and discovery on foot including links to public transport.


• Financially reward people who walk more, through local businesses, workplaces and government incentives.


• Looking at future improvements by hitting the drawing boards with quality design consultants and with an open and flexible mind to providing creative solutions to real problems which exist in community today.
  

Now is not the time to sit on our heels and relic in the aging 'Masterplan' of the community and think that maintaining the quality of our community is by doing nothing. We are already seen our houses and retail centers deteriorate, many people have already invested in the long term of their properties by making sound improvements; most have not. If we want our community to continue to be the city where people come to shop and raise their families, we must invest in it.

It's not too late to re-think the 'Masterplan'!

'Super Mom' was featured in a past article in the OC Register. All other photos taken by author. Some content courtesy of Walk21.

New Research: 18- to 34-Year-Olds Key to Green Economy

Younger consumers connect the dots between climate change causes and buying truly green brands.
New research conducted by EnviroMedia Social Marketing indicates young Americans, an estimated audience of 76 million people, will power the new green economy and are the key to future economic growth.

This national opinion poll reveals a clear generation gap in understanding the cause of climate change — and marketing experts say businesses that pay attention may find new growth strategies.

More than any other age group, 18- to 34-year-olds believe global warming is caused by human activities. Additionally, the research indicates Americans who believe in this connection are almost twice as likely to buy more green products in this economy than Americans who believe it occurs naturally.

* Overall, 51 percent of Americans believe climate change is caused by human activities. Twenty-nine percent believe climate change is occurring naturally, and 15 percent say climate change needs to be scientifically proven. Just 3 percent of the public does not believe climate change exists.

* Sixty-four percent of 18- to 34-year-olds believe humans cause climate change —more than any other age group.

* Those who believe climate change is caused by human activity are more likely to have attended college; believe that green transportation or electricity from renewable resources is most beneficial for the environment (rather than recycling or minimal/reduced packaging); and are influenced more in their green purchasing decisions by third-party certifications than by word-of-mouth or manufacturer labels.

* More than half (56 percent) of the people who believe electricity from renewable resources is the most beneficial action for the environment believe humans are causing climate change.

About the Survey
Opinion Research Corporation surveyed 1,000 people January 23 - 26, 2009 by telephone in a random digit-dial sample, with a +/- 3.2 percent margin of error. The survey question: See details at http://www.enviromedia.com/enviroblog/?p=983
Photo Courtesy of The Green Blog

Thinking outside the GREEN box!

National Geographic contained an article last month called "A Bicycle Bump" which featured Portland, Oregon for it's "171 miles of bike lanes, ten freshly painted green boxes (picture above) that put cyclists safely ahead of vehicles, even some signals just for bikes." And this isn't the first time the yellow-bordered magazine has featured Portland. In the August 2008 issue, it named Portland the number one city in the top five bike-friendly cities in the nation.

It's of no surprise that biking is on the rise. With gas prices soaring, more and more people are parking the car and choosing to pedal to work. According to National Geographic, they measured this by the number of additional bikes being places on the racks of buses. In the lead is Houston with a whopping 235% increase.With more and more bike friendly streets being built and programs like bike-sharing, it's hard for anyone not to have the incentive to keep the car at home. Paris has a great bike sharing program, seen in the image below, taken near the Viaduc de Artes.

How wonderful would it be to show up in any city and be able to just grab a bike and go. Sure you can rent bikes for a time, but then they always have to be returned to the same place. Have a network of kiosks where you can pick up and drop off as you please purely on an as-needed basis is definitely something that would have more people grabbing a bike.

Now, many of you might be thinking that biking in Mission Viejo is more of a sport tham eco-commuting with all the hills we have in our city. But if our local government and developers would consider investing in our community by ways of improving the commercial and civic properties and amenities as well as improving the pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, this just might be a viable option for MV.

We could also take this concept further...what about sharing kids toys, video games and DVD'S, clothes, etc. We spend so much money on these things and more often than not we all complain about having these things pile up in our closets, garages and 'nooks & crannies'.

Think about it...what's your ideas?

Is Mission Viejo Walkable?

Taken from the guiding principles of the Internet site Walk Score, which is devoted to helping people find walkable places to live:

Walkable Neighborhoods
Picture a walkable neighborhood. You lose weight each time you walk to the grocery store. You stumble home from last call without waiting for a cab. You spend less money on your car—or you don't own a car. When you shop, you support your local economy. You talk to your neighbors.

What makes a neighborhood walkable?
A center: Walkable neighborhoods have a discernible center, whether it's a shopping district, a main street, or a public space.
Density: The neighborhood is compact enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to run frequently.
Mixed income, mixed use: Housing is provided for everyone who works in the neighborhood: young and old, singles and families, rich and poor. Businesses and residences are located near each other.
Parks and public space: There are plenty of public places to gather and play.
Pedestrian-centric design: Buildings are placed close to the street to cater to foot traffic, with parking lots relegated to the back.
Nearby schools and workplaces: Schools and workplaces are close enough that most residents can walk from their homes.

Streets Designed for Everyone
Complete Streets are roads are designed for everyone who uses them, including bicyclists, pedestrians of all ages and abilities, and people getting on and off transit vehicles. These streets are:
Accessible: There are wheelchair ramps, plenty of benches with shade, sidewalks on all streets, etc.
Well-connected: Streets form a connected grid that improves traffic by providing many routes to any destination.
Built for the right speed: Lanes are narrow or traffic calming is in place to control speed.
Comfortable: Pedestrian medians at intersections, count-down crosswalk timers, bicycle lanes, protected bus shelters, etc. make the street work better for those outside of a car.

How does Mission Viejo compare?
If you were to live nearby or drive to, park, and then walk from the 'Central Hub' of Mission Viejo, we look pretty good...on paper that is. How many of these businesses are actually worth walking to? And, do you feel comfortable walking from one to another? Walking along Margurite's 5' wide curb adjacent sidewalk, next to a tiny, poorly maintained landscape setback is anything but comfortable to me. Hopefully the City is taking this into account in their street widening efforts and maybe one day Mission Viejo will transform from a typical suburban city to a community.