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.

The Project Renovation Paradox

When times are good, property owners don't want to impact revenues by embarking on a renovation project; causing site disruptions which impact tenants, visitors and shoppers. Paradoxically, today, poorly performing properties in need of a facelift lack the necessary revenue to do anything about it.

Alas, a Catch-22: If your property is making money, you don't feel the need to renovate. But when sales and rents are down and you feel the need, you don't have the money to renovate.
So, when is a good time to renovate?

John F. Kennedy once said, "The time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining." In terms of the economic climate, these are cloudy times at best (even stormy, in many locations). So, what can a property owner do today who is strapped for cash?

Find some money. Invest in capital expenditures and make decisions with an eye on ROI.

The most obvious advantage of renovating in this environment is cost savings. Now is the first time in the 30 years that construction costs have actually come down. Historically, they have gone up steadily, if not sharply. Today, in many parts of the world, costs are down by over 10% from just six months ago. According to statistics compiled by Rider Levett Buchnall (http://www.americas.rlb.com/documents/cost/reports/2009_q2_qcr.pdf), construction costs in cities like Denver and Seattle declined by as much as 8% in the first quarter of 2009 alone.

A second advantage: When business is slow and there are vacanies, there is less disruption to guests and less impact on cash flow from operations. On top of that, construction can proceed more quickly, and property owners and managers can get the word out that their property is newly renovated and open for business.

Properties that have been newly renovated will be in the best position to restore and/or raise rents and increase occupancies. Properties that defer needed maintenance and refurbishment and wait until times are better will miss being able to take full advantage of the inevitable upturn. When thinking about where to shop or go see a movie families most often go to the ones that are either new or newly renovated. Research data from a recent study conducted by STR shows that, over a five-year period, revenues for renovated properties increase at three-and-a-half times the rate of un-renovated properties.

Bottom line: Hard times are good times to prepare for better times.

Images courtesy of: Global Graphica, Mission Viejo Life

Some Text Courtesy of: WATG

Culture of Change - In Housing Strategies

It is this character of community living that our cities are losing, and our children may never experience unless we act now...

My first post, Culture of Change discussed a very similar topic but more focused on the consumer and retail. I found this article in what I thought was an odd place to find a topic like this, the Wall Street Journal's Live Mint. I am glad to see that topics like this are making it to the Business World.

Living together makes living lighter
The very idea of more for less indicates a culture of consumption, the concept of “getting” without “giving”, which is essentially contradictory to the principles of being environment-friendly. One has to believe in a certain value system of sharing and caring for each other and the environment, which will reap benefits that are intangible yet immeasurable.

All for one and one for all
Going green has turned into a trend today, and every individual has realized the relevance of being sensitive to the environment. Although this is a positive sign, we need to look further than the jargon—which is more technology-driven—and examine the real issues involved in being environment-friendly, in the context of present-day lifestyles and economic conditions.
An eco community is composed of like-minded people who live together, sharing utilities such as water and sewage systems, common spaces and facilities. An investment in an eco community would result in not only owning the piece of land that one has bought; the homeowner would also take ownership of the larger community space, which expands the visual and physical space available.

Bigger than the individual...
So essentially, one would not need to own a large piece of land individually, and yet one would get to enjoy a much larger space. Maintenance of garden spaces, water tanks, sewage systems, back-up power facilities and security would also become a shared enterprise, which could be supported by all members, and individual maintenance would be limited to one’s home and personal gardens.
...becomes cheaper for the individual
Several technologies—such as waste-water recycling, water treatment and rainwater harvesting—require a critical mass to become economical. An individual investing in these technologies would end up spending much more of his total budget than is desirable. In a larger group, it would amount to less.

Benefits beyond your doorstep
Neighbours who become extended family, open spaces where children are free and secure, and spaces where the elderly need no longer be lonely are some other benefits of living in a community.
Such communities can recreate some of the culture of small towns and villages where a lot of us come from, while trying to retain the advantages that a city offers. It is this character of community living that our cities are losing, and our children may never experience unless we act now. The emphasis needs to be on creating an ambience which is human in scale, while retaining the character of the land; “place-making” vs space-making being the underlying theme in the planning, creating places that celebrate the oneness of the human spirit with nature and not icons that exhibit man’s supposed superiority.

Living NOT to the maximum
Fewer burdens can be imposed on the land by not utilizing the maximum permissible area one is allowed to build on and reducing the footprint and material resources required.
The breakdown of traditional forms of community, wasteful consumerist lifestyles and the destruction of natural habitat, urban sprawl and over-reliance on fossil fuels are trends that must be changed to avert ecological disasters. Small-scale communities with minimal ecological impact are one alternative.

Photo courtesy of liveMINT.com