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A Model For Eco-friendly Development

Posted by: Abhijeet Chavan

6 July 2006 - 2:00pm

"Locally grown foods would hold a place of honor. There would be solar panels on the roof and recycled water for irrigation. The design takes cues from nearby buildings, and 15 percent of the units are affordable. No need for a car, either -- the center of town is a short walk away, and there's a train stop planned next door.

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That utopian gloss makes the project dubbed New Railroad Square a bellwether of how the Bay Area continues to evolve...the project shows that growth is no longer a dirty word as long as development proposals reflect larger cultural priorities..."

Architect Dan Solomon, a founder of the Congress for New Urbanism believes that architecture should do more than "simply offer three-dimensional nostalgia for how things supposedly used to be. That lazy approach is seen too often when suburban downtowns get new buildings: They look cute on paper, but they're pallid in real life."

"As the project moves forward, the developers will be measured against the grandiose rhetoric that helped them win the site.."

A visionary development plan promises transit villages, solar energy, local farms, water recycling, sensitive architecture, and walkable neighborhoods. Will it be a model for other communities seeking eco-friendly development?

"Locally grown foods would hold a place of honor. There would be solar panels on the roof and recycled water for irrigation. The design takes cues from nearby buildings, and 15 percent of the units are affordable. No need for a car, either -- the center of town is a short walk away, and there's a train stop planned next door.

That utopian gloss makes the project dubbed New Railroad Square a bellwether of how the Bay Area continues to evolve...the project shows that growth is no longer a dirty word as long as development proposals reflect larger cultural priorities..."

Architect Dan Solomon, a founder of the Congress for New Urbanism believes that architecture should do more than "simply offer three-dimensional nostalgia for how things supposedly used to be. That lazy approach is seen too often when suburban downtowns get new buildings: They look cute on paper, but they're pallid in real life."

"As the project moves forward, the developers will be measured against the grandiose rhetoric that helped them win the site.."

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, Jul 06, 2006
Full Story: A green look in the heart of Santa Rosa; Process will test the developers' engaging vision
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