Are You Funding Green Sprawl?
Today’s post is dedicated to all our euphoric green finance and investment friends who are suffering from PEWS — post-election withdrawal syndrome.
Here’s a delicate question:
>>Are you funding green sprawl?<<
Sustainable Industries recently published an article about the dilemma of having green homes and buildings built in suburban locations.
Their set-up:
While the profusion of buildings that use at least 15 percent less energy and reduce water usage as well as other non-sustainable resources is good news for a country searching for energy independence and a planet combating a variety of environmental ills, some are starting to think more needs to be done.
Top of the list: Considering whether sprawling architecture and 4,200-square-foot McMansions can truly be considered “green.â€
For us here, the article highlights some challenges for those builders and investors who have business models focused on commuter-oriented suburban markets, that now invest in green homes and buildings but ignore the overall smart growth principles that come with sustainable real estate investing.
Here’s an example from the article of a financial opportunity that is buried within implementing smart growth principles in tandem with green building:
Reducing sprawl and its attendant reliance on cars also increases the spending power of individuals, according to a study prepared by Portland-based Impresa Consulting in July 2007. According to the study, residents of Portland travel 20 percent fewer miles per day than the average American. At $3 per gallon, this equates to $1.1 billion saved or $800 million that stays in the local economy each year.
Essentially, funding green buildings in locations without smart growth principles might make a good return for the builder/owner, but it also imposes a quantifiable, lifelong tax on the residents and businesses who move in to those developments. And as some builders and investors are finding out in these tougher economic times — people can move, the real estate can’t.
As always, we welcome your comments.
