Sustainable Community Development, Walkability Factor

The case for sustainable communities is being made daily which brightens my day. The editor's at HW have been talking about the practical application of sustainable development for the past couple of years in the pages of Developer.

"With gas prices sky-high, the pedestrian friendliness of your city or neighborhood becomes a pocketbook issue. A new survey by Walk Score has ranked the largest U.S. cities by their walkability."
By Christopher Solomon, MSN Real Estate

Walkability is a legitimate and critical factor these days. The article above points out web resource that has bound to be killing it these days. Check it out here: walkscore.com

We vacationed in Lake Tahoe last week and our primary criteria for selecting a vacation rental was walkability. My in-laws recently purchased a home in Sonoma County because of its walkability features. In the Bay Area property values in walkable communities have definitely remained the most well-insulated from the recent economic rout.

My opinion: The combination of preference change and population boom will dramatically shift the built environment over the next 20 years. The green movement will evolve into common discussions of sustainability. Even the most closed-minded will be enthusiastic about participating because it will make sense economically.