Tradition Biloxi, Mississippi

A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Tradition Bi lo xi, Mississi ppi

Urban L an d $ Ins ti tute Tradition Biloxi, Mississippi

Developing a Sustainable Master-Planned Community

January 13 –18, 2008 A Sustainable Development Panel Report

ULI–the Urban Land Institute 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500 West Washington, D.C. 20007-5201 About ULI–the Urban Land Institute

he mission of the Urban Land Institute is to • Sustaining a diverse global network of local provide leadership in the responsible use of practice and advisory efforts that address cur - land and in creating and sustaining thriving rent and future challenges. T communities worldwide. ULI is committed to Established in 1936, the Institute today has more • Bringing together leaders from across the fields than 40,000 members worldwide, represent ing t he of real estate and land use policy to exchange entire spectrum of the land use and develop ment best practices and serve community needs; disciplines. Professionals represented include de - velopers, builders, property owners, investors, ar - • Fostering collaboration within and beyond chitects, public officials, planners, real estate bro - ULI’s membership through mentoring, dia - kers, appraisers, attorneys, engineers, financiers , logue, and problem solving; academics, students, and librarians. ULI relies • Exploring issues of urbanization, conservation, heavily on the experience of its members. It is regeneration, land use, capital formation, and through member involvement and information sustainable development; resources that ULI has been able to set standards of excellence in development practice. The Insti - • Advancing land use policies and design prac - tute has long been recognized as one of the world’s tices that respect the uniqueness of both built most respected and widely quoted sources of ob - and natural environments; jective information on urban planning, growth, and development. • Sharing knowledge through education, applied research, publishing, and electronic media; and

Cover photos © Columbus Communities, iStockphoto/Marie- france Bélanger.

2 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT About ULI Advisory Services

he goal of ULI’s Advisory Services Program pants in ULI’s five-day panel assignments are is to bring the finest expertise in the real able to make accurate assessments of a sponsor’s estate field to bear on complex land use plan - issues and to provide recommendations in a com - T ning and development projects, programs, pressed amount of time. and policies. Since 1947, this program has assem - bled well over 400 ULI-member teams to help A major strength of the program is ULI’s unique sponsors find creative, practical solutions for ability to draw on the knowledge and expertise of issues such as downtown redevelopment, land its members, including land developers and own - management strategies, evaluation of develop - ers, public officials, academics, representatives of ment potential, growth management, community financial institutions, and others. In fulfillment of revitalization, brownfields redevelopment, mili - the mission of the Urban Land Institute, this tary base reuse, provision of low-cost and afford - Advisory Services panel report is intended to able housing, and asset management strategies, provide objective advice that will promote the re- among other matters. A wide variety of public, sponsible use of land to enhance the environment. private, and nonprofit organizations have con - tracted for ULI’s Advisory Services. ULI Program Staff Marta V. Goldsmith Each panel team is composed of highly qualified Vice President, Community professionals who volunteer their time to ULI. They are chosen for their knowledge of the panel Thomas W. Eitler topic and screened to ensure their objectivity. Director, Advisory Services ULI’s interdisciplinary panel teams provide a Cary Sheih holistic look at development problems. A re- Senior Associate, Advisory Services spected ULI member who has previous panel Matthew Rader experience chairs each panel. Senior Associate, Advisory Services The agenda for a five-day panel assignment is in- Caroline Dietrich tensive. It includes an in-depth briefing day com - Panel Coordinator, Advisory Services posed of a tour of the site and meetings with spon- Nancy H. Stewart sor representatives; a day of hour-long interviews Director, Book Program of typically 50 to 75 key community representa - Laura Glassman, Publications Professionals LLC tives; and two days of formulating recommenda - Manuscript Editor tions. Long nights of discussion precede the Betsy VanBuskirk panel’s conclusions. On the final day on site, the Art Director panel makes an oral presentation of its findings and conclusions to the sponsor. A written report Martha Loomis is prepared and published. Desktop Publishing Specialist/Graphics Kim Rusch Because the sponsoring entities are responsible Graphics for significant preparation before the panel’s visit, including sending extensive briefing materials to Craig Chapman Director, Publishing Operations each member and arranging for the panel to meet with key local community members and stake - holders in the project under consideration, partici -

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 3 Acknowledgments

n behalf of the Urban Land Institute, the preparations and support of the panel during its panel thanks Joseph C. Canizaro for envi - time on site. The panel also extends special thanks sioning a sustainable community at Tradi - to the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environ - O tion and for sponsoring ULI’s first sustain - ment for its contributions to the panel. able development panel. The panel appreciates the opportunity to help shape Tradition as a living Finally, the panel thanks all the community lead - project that will define sustainability at the com - ers who shared their time and ideas in the inter - munity level and contribute to the Mississippi Gulf view process. Everyone who participated in the Coast’s recovery and growth. panel process provided vital insight and demon - strated the teamwork, civic dedication, and inge - The panel sends special thanks to the entire nuity needed to make Tradition a great success. Columbus Communities team, including Gerald Blessey, Jamie Carpenter, Brynn Joachim, Jeffrey M. Riopelle, and Rhonda Waits for their diligent

4 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Contents

ULI Panel and Project Staff 6 Foreword: The Panel’s Assignment 7 Defining a Sustainable Tradition 11 Economic Sustainability 13 Social Sustainability 15 Environmental Sustainability 19 Measuring Success 31 About the Panel 34

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 5 ULI Panel and Pr oject Staff

Panel Chair William G. Lashbrook III Senior Vice President Daniel C. Van Epp PNC Real Estate Finance Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer East Brunswick, New Jersey Newland Communities San Diego, California Franklin A. Martin President Panel Members Martin Community Development, LLC Boise, Idaho Hank Baker Principal Frederick L. Merrill, Jr. Baker Property Group Principal Denver, Colorado Sasaki Associates, Inc. Watertown, Massachusetts Francisco Benavides Sustainable Development and Thomas Murphy Environment Manager Senior Resident Fellow, ULI/Klingbeil Family Kennecott Land Company Chair for Urban Development Murray, Utah ULI –the Urban Land Institute Washington, D.C. Hooper Brooks Director of International Programs Judi G. Schweitzer Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment President London, United Kingdom Schweitzer + Associates, Inc. Lake Forest, California Nicholas R. Corker Principal –Sustainable Communities ULI Project Staff Building Research Establishment Watford, United Kingdom Matthew P. Rader Senior Associate, Advisory Services Patrick Curran Associate Landscape Architect Marta V. Goldsmith SWA Group Vice President, Community Los Angeles, California Caroline Dietrich Jim Heid Panel Coordinator, Advisory Services Founder UrbanGreen, LLC San Francisco, California Jeff Kingsbury Managing Principal Greenstreet Ltd. Zionsville, Indiana

6 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Foreword: The Panel’s Assignment

radition is a new, developing master-planned Location map. Memphis community located near Biloxi, Mississippi, TENNESSEE the heart of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. T Columbus Communities hopes to develop Tradition in a manner that embraces the best ARKANSAS Tupelo practices of sustainable community development 55 and inspires other developments on the Gulf Coast and around the country to do the same. Columbus Communities sponsored a ULI Sustainable De- velopment Panel to identify best practices for sus - Greenville tain able community development and apply them to Tradition. The panel met in Biloxi, January 13 –18, 2007. This report documents the panel’s MISSISSIPPI recommendations. Vicksburg Meridian 59 20 Jackson 20 Regional Background ALABAMA 55 The Mississippi Gulf Coast offers an excellent cli - mate, a fast-growing economy, and more than 75 Hattiesburg miles of beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. Tradition is located in the heart of the Gulf Coast, approxi - 59 mately 15 miles north of the beaches, Gulfport, and Mobile LOUISIANA Biloxi. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Baton Rouge Mobile 10 Biloxi Bay Gulfport Pascagoula entire region with storm surge and wind damage. Mississippi Sound

The Gulf Coast community responded to Katrina Chandeleur Gulf of Mexico S d with an energized approach to rebuilding with higher land use standards, a stronger economy, second-largest hospital in the U.S. Air Force sys - and an enhanced quality of life. tem. The State Port at Gulfport has become one of the three largest ports on the Gulf of Mexico and The Mississippi Gulf Coast’s economy traditionally continues to grow. The Northrop Grumman ship - relied on the seafood industry. Today, the region’s yard in Pascagoula is the nation’s largest builder robust, diversified economy relies on tourism, the of U.S. Navy vessels. military, and shipping. Dubbed the “Mississippi Miracle” by the national media, the region’s eco - The region’s economic and population centers re - nomic growth followed the introduction of legal - main clustered along the beach, particularly in the ized dockside gaming in 1992. The region is now traditional centers of Biloxi and Gulfport. These the third-largest gaming venue in the United areas suffered the most significant damage from States. It is also home to significant military and wind and storm surge during Katrina because of NASA installations at Keesler Air Force Base, their proximity to the Gulf. Post-Katrina develop - Stennis Space Center, and the Naval Construction ment trends indicate a shift of new residential and Battalion Center at Gulfport. Keesler Air Force commercial development to the north of Inter - Base has grown as a result of recent base closings state 10. High insurance rates continue to affect in other parts of the nation and now contains the housing affordability throughout the region.

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 7 Biloxi is a major regional tourism, employment, and population center.

The Study Area De Soto National Forest borders the site on the southwest, east, and northeast. Tradition is located ten miles northeast of Gulfport and ten miles northwest of Biloxi, in the heart of Improved highways provide congestion-free con - the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The site is 4,800 acres nections between Tradition and other key Gulf of rolling terrain that ranges in elevation from Coast destinations. Tradition Parkway, a new, 50 to 170 feet. The site had no flooding in Katrina. four-lane boulevard, traverses the site and con - Formerly used as a pine plantation, the site is nects to Highway 90 at the beach between Gulf - heavily wooded with slash pine intended for paper port and Biloxi. It provides quick connections to production. The site has abundant natural lands; Interstate 10, Biloxi, and Gulfport. The Gulfport- 40 percent of the land is classified as wetlands, and Biloxi International Airport is a 15-minute drive from Tradition. Downtown Biloxi and downtown Regional map. Gulfport, both important business centers, are within a 15-minute drive.

Harrison County zoned Tradition as a master- planned community in 2001 and adopted a devel - Tradition opment agreement that outlines entitlements at HARRISON 15 JACKSON 67 57 Tradition. The development agreement currently 605 entitles Columbus Communities to build 15,500 49 residential units and 2 million square feet of com - mercial space. Following the panel’s visit, on April 10 90 7, 2008, William Carey University broke ground Biloxi Gulfport for construction of its new Gulf Coast Campus at Tradition and plans to begin classes for 750 stu - dents at Tradition in fall 2009. This campus will re - place the former campus that was destroyed by

8 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT St. Patrick Catholic High School opened at Tradition in 2007.

Hurricane Katrina. William Carey plans to grow The Panel’s Assignment to serve 3,000 students within ten years. St. Patrick Columbus Communities invited a ULI Sustainable Catholic High School opened a new campus for Development Panel to help define and recommend 600 students at Tradition in fall 2007. appropriate sustainable development practices for Several prominent planners and architects have Tradition. Columbus Communities requested the developed studies, master plans, and village-level panel’s assistance in making Tradition a national plans for Tradition. EDSA developed a master model for large-scale, greenfield, sustainable com - munity development. As part of the assignment, plan for Tradition in 2006 that anticipates eventual the sponsor asked the panel to establish a defini - development of a traditional neighborhood devel - tion for sustainable development for Tradition and opment (TND), an active adult community, two translate that definition into a vision that would golf courses, and a mixed-use town center. The plan uses preserved wetlands and open space as The Village at Tradition an interconnected fabric to separate and define features traditional archi - development areas. tecture and a variety of housing sizes. The first area of development was the Village at Tradition, initiated by Columbus Communities in 2006. The Village is a 312-acre TND designed by Architects Southwest, a noted TND design firm based in Lafayette, Louisiana. Infrastructure for the Village is nearly complete, including water, sewer, fiber optics, roadways, and the future com - munity library. More than 20 homes are currently under construction in the Village. The Village Center, composed of 60,000 square feet of neigh - borhood retail and marketplace, will begin con - struction in fall 2008.

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 9 provide a foundation for future design, program, open space, and how should that open space be business, construction, and operations decisions at programmed to optimize opportunities for green Tradition. The sponsor also asked the panel to ex - infrastructure that contributes to a sustainable plore the following specific issues: community? • What market exists for housing, commercial, and • What are the economics of sustainable develop - civic uses at Tradition? What strategies should ment, including additional construction costs the sponsor pursue to attract residents with di - and operational cost savings during the life of verse incomes, experiences, and backgrounds? the structure? How should this cost premium be What is the market for sustainable development managed over time? What public and private on the Gulf Coast? funding sources should be pursued to assist with these costs? How should long-term cost • What types of employers and how many jobs savings from sustainable development practices should Tradition seek to attract to support an be considered in the economic model? equitable jobs-to-housing balance? What oppor - tunities may exist to attract “green” industries • What metrics and benchmarks should the spon - (for example, modular homebuilding, sustain - sor use to measure Tradition’s sustainability? able products research) to Tradition? How should these metrics evolve over time? • Will the current master plan lead to development ULI recruited 13 volunteers for an expert panel of a sustainable community? If not, how should to address these questions. The panel members the mix of uses be changed to better support a organized into teams to address the issues of eco - sustainable community? What pedestrian, bicy - nomic, social, and environmental sustainability cle, and transit facilities should be included to and collectively created a sustainability definition provide sustainable transportation alternatives? and vision for Tradition. • What green infrastructure and green building standards and technologies should be used at Tradition to minimize the development’s carbon footprint? What land should be committed to

10 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Defining a Sustainable Tradition

urrent efforts to develop sustainable com - integrated, whole-systems approach to making munities continue a long tradition of efforts decisions that ensures economic, social, and envi - to create vital, enduring communities. Re - ronmental sustainability goals are achieved in C ston, Virginia; Columbia, Maryland; The balance. Today’s leading examples and evolving Woodlands, Texas; and many others showcase the models combine lessons learned from the best com - evolution of community-building strategies since munity developments of the past century with the 1960s. More recently, in the 1990s, developers emerging strategies for programming, design, began building smaller-scale communities that construction, operation, and governance. As a emphasized a carefully crafted public realm and re sult, the term “sustainable community” defies social fabric. Dubbed the new urbanism and tradi - a single definition. However, sustainable commu - tional neighborhood development, these communi - nities seek to achieve the following goals: ties captured market interest and inspired devel - opers to find new ways to build communities that • Positively contribute to their environment, re - encourage social integration, create memorable gion, and surrounding communities; experiences, and reduce automobile dependency. • Support an intergenerational and demographi - In parallel, growing interest in green building and cally diverse population; sustainability inspired land developers around the • Achieve carbon neutrality at a minimum and world to explore the potential of sustainable com - carbon absorption at best; munities. Unlike other community development models, the sustainable community requires an • Create memorable and enduring places to live;

The Village at Tradition follows the principles of traditional neighborhood design, including people- friendly and landscaped streets.

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 11 • Remain flexible and adaptable to changing mar - Proposed Tradition Vision Statement kets, lifestyles, and trends; Tradition is a richly diverse community that as - pires to achieve excellence in education, arts and • Promote economic vitality for residents, busi - culture, environmental stewardship, and health nesses, institutions, and their developer; and wellness—leading to a vibrant, enduring qual - • Evolve their governance and leadership from ity of life for the community and the region. the community base; and Objectives to Guide Development at Tradition • Openly share their lessons, so that others can The panel recommends that the sponsor use the build on their success. following seven objectives to guide Tradition’s de - velopment in a balanced, sustainable manner: The Triple Bottom Line • Build the community around education and fos - Sustainable community developers must create a ter a culture of lifelong learning. decision-making process that enables them to con - • Institute capacity for continuous, progressive tinuously monitor their development against sus - economic development. tainability goals. Many practitioners rely on the concept of a triple bottom line to evaluate a com - • Establish social, natural, and physical connec - munity’s consistency with sustainability goals. tivity as the core principle of the community. Whereas traditional developments rely on a single bottom line—economic return to the developer— • Move toward carbon neutrality through pro - to guide development decisions, sustainable com - gressive planning, construction, and efficient munities strive to make decisions that achieve a use of resources. triple bottom line of economic, environmental, and • Continuously increase the diversity and health social sustainability. of the community’s human and natural systems. The triple bottom line is best described using the • Establish strong leadership for successfully ex - metaphor of a stool with three legs: economic, so - ecuting Tradition, while rejuvenating the region cial, and environmental sustainability. The three and advancing the real estate industry’s under - legs must remain balanced to keep the stool up - standing of sustainability. right. Similarly, a community developed using only one leg of analysis cannot fulfill its responsi - • Establish a research foundation to become a bilities to the environment, the regional economy, center for research, education, and marketing of and its residents. The panel recommends that Tra - sustainability and diversity. dition adopt a triple bottom line to guide the proj - The following sections of the report detail recom - ect’s evolution and development from this point mendations to support the preceding objectives; forward. the recommendations are organized into three cat - egories that mirror the triple bottom line concept: Making Tradition’s Vision Sustainable social, environmental, and economic sustainability. The panel recommends that Tradition refine its Each section describes how these seven objectives vision statement to reflect a commitment to sus - can be met using a range of strategies, time tainability and the triple bottom line, as follows. frames, programs, and partners. Existing Tradition Vision Statement Tradition is a residential and commercial com - munity with a vibrant quality of life created in a sustainable mixed-use development based on excellence in education, environmental stew- ard ship, health and wellness, the arts, and tradi - tional architecture.

12 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Economic Sustainability

conomically sustainable communities gen - the town to provide necessary public services, erate economic activity that contributes including economic development, infrastructure, to, rather than compromises, the environ - public safety, and civic facilities, well into the next E mental and social dimensions of the com - century. Developing a stable, long-term capacity munity. They offer many opportunities to work for progressive economic development will help within the community, participate in meaningful ensure the community’s economic sustainability. careers, and foster new businesses and networks while providing financial returns to their devel- The panel encourages the sponsor to implement opers, homeowners, stakeholders, and surround - the following recommendations to help Tradition ing communities. achieve economic sustainability. Tradition has the opportunity to become an eco - nomically sustainable community by providing op - Build Capacity for Sustainable portunities for residents to both live and work. Economic Development The jobs-to-housing ratio measures the harmony between employment and dwelling units in a spe - Tradition should strategically recruit the right cific area, commonly referred to as the “jobs-hous - mix of commercial services and employers to cre - ing balance.” The jobs-to-housing ratio is simply ate a self-sustaining community that optimizes the the number of jobs in a community divided by the inputs and outputs generated by those enter - number of housing units in that community. The prises. The result is a “closed loop” community panel recommends that Tradition target 0.5 jobs whose businesses contribute to the community’s for every dwelling unit. Assuming a full buildout overall synergy and vitality, resulting in lower en - of 15,500 dwelling units, Tradition should target vironmental impacts. The sponsor should pursue 7,750 jobs. the following actions to achieve sustainable eco - nomic development: Creating and maintaining a strong jobs-to-housing ratio contributes to economic, social, and environ - Immediate mental sustainability. Establishing a strong busi - Work with state and local economic development ness base in the community could provide a more agencies to influence policies to attract new busi - diverse revenue base to support schools, commu - nesses, particularly businesses that share Tradi - nity amenities, and public services. Additionally, tion’s commitment to sustainability. Partner with locating jobs in the community can reduce com - those entities to create the necessary economic mutes and enhance residents’ mental health and development tools to ensure businesses will locate ability to engage in active family and community life. From an environmental perspective, growing to Tradition. employment within the community reduces vehi - Create an organic economic development system cle miles traveled, which leads to reduced air pol - led by the developer to attract businesses to Tra- lution and fuel consumption. dition. Business attraction efforts should initially Tradition should design a community governance focus on opportunities identified in the August 2007 structure and framework that can transition market analysis prepared by TIP Strategies, in - seamlessly from the development stage into full cluding geospatial technology, security technology, new-town operation. This structure must enable avionics, green building systems, and composites.

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 13 Midterm institute can emphasize sustainable business prac - Recruit a health and wellness center to Tradition , tices, optimum use of clean and green technology as recommended in the TIP Strategies report. The and renewable resources, and help develop the center will support Tradition’s commitment to health Gulf Coast region’s local and indigenous expertise. and wellness, help manifest (both symbolically and Businesses incubated in the institute can become practically) a healthy lifestyle, and attract residents long-term economic anchors at Tradition. and employers who may view the center as a tool to reduce health care costs, attract higher-quality Promote Ecotourism employees, and improve productivity. Tradition should become a partner in regional ef - forts to encourage ecotourism, which is defined as Encourage Ongoing Workforce tourism with a heightened sense of responsibility Development and interest about the environment. The commu - nity’s location adjacent to De Soto National Forest Tradition’s long-term economic sustainability will and within the Pascagoula River Basin offers rely on an educated, skilled workforce attractive many opportunities to provide recreational and to employers. The community should support a educational ecotourism opportunities. Addition - workforce that is educated and motivated for suc - ally, ecotourism at Tradition will foster a stronger cess in an era focused on sustainability in the fol - sense of stewardship among Tradition’s residents, lowing ways. help connect residents of the entire Gulf Coast to Immediate the natural environment of the region, and estab - Align with key regional employers to identify work - lish Tradition as a key destination in the region. force development and job-training needs to sup - Midterm port their corporate strategic plans and human Lead the development of a regional ecotourism resources needs. initiative by exploring alliances with the public Recruit providers, including William Carey Uni - and private agencies that are advocates and over - versity, to locate at Tradition and offer educational seers for the Gulf Coast, the De Soto National programs that meet employers’ needs, offer con - Forest, and the Pascagoula River Basin in pro - tinuing education for nontraditional students, and gramming ecotourism related activities. lifelong learning opportunities for residents. Long Term Midterm Develop a hotel/resort/conference center at Tradi - tion to accommodate visitors and guests of the Establish a Gulf Coast Institute for Sustainability community and as a hub for ecotourism activities Technology to incubate sustainability-oriented in the region, to support marketing efforts, and to businesses that make more and better use of ap - facilitate retail and office development. propriate technology, materials, and designs. The

Tradition features many natural areas, much open space, and a growing public art program.

14 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Social Sustainability

ocially sustainable communities provide The panel recommends building amenities based opportunities for people to live, work, on the following recommendations: prosper, and recreate all while taking Immediate S pride and actively participating in the area where they live. Such communities enable Establish a pedestrian and bicycle trail network residents to engage in the community while throughout Tradition with connections to De Soto providing a healthy, safe, equitable, secure, and National Forest. The trail network will promote inclusionary environment. sustainability by providing alternative transporta - tion options, promoting recreation, and enabling The panel encourages the sponsor to foster social sustainability at Tradition by providing the right residents to interact with natural areas. Over amenities, building dynamic community programs, time, the trail network could connect to the and planning for long-term educational needs. The Pascagoula River. right actions in these areas will attract residents Plan and build parks to serve a variety of passive diverse in geographic origin, age, household com - position, and religion and fulfill residents’ expec- and active recreation uses . Each park should be tations for a lively, integrated community. If Tra - carefully planned to support specific uses, includ - dition provides the framework for a socially ing athletic fields, community gardens, and com - sustainable community, residents will be more munity events. The sponsor should also consider likely to take ownership of the community and building tennis courts in the short term. contribute to developing its long-term quality of life. The panel recommends the following actions Create community gardens . The gardens should to promote social sustainability. feature raised beds with high-quality soil for veg - etable cultivation. The sponsor should rent the Provide Amenities to Support garden plots to residents for a nominal fee on a Community first-come, first-served basis. In other sustainable communities, community gardens are in high de - The right amenities will attract residents to Tradi - mand and provide a fun way for residents to meet tion and provide the foundation for lively commu - people and interact with the natural environment. nity life. Amenities should respond to residents’ needs and desires, foster interaction among neigh - As Tradition builds out, bors, help provide stewardship for the natural en - the Discovery Center will vironment, respect diversity, and support a become a community healthy, safe lifestyle. Amenities will shape the library and information community’s character and enable residents to center. meet their recreational, social, and spiritual needs. Properly programmed, organized, and designed amenities will enable residents to casually meet one another, make friends, socialize, take recre - ation, and actively participate in community life. In a broader sense, amenities should provide es - sential needs such as educational and religious services.

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 15 Create water features and fountains . Water fea - religious denominations to work with Tradition tures improve the community’s aesthetics and to meet the long-term needs of a religiously di - build community by providing fun and interaction verse community. between people and water, particularly for young children. Establish an equestrian center . The equestrian center supports local culture and can take advan - Midterm tage of the mild climate and future trails into the Build an outdoor recreation center with state-of- adjacent forest. The equestrian center will con - the-art playground equipment, rope courses, and tribute to Tradition’s evolution as a center for other attractions. The center will benefit residents active recreational lifestyles and draw potential and attract other visitors to the community. Visi - residents to visit Tradition. Industry experience tors will support local businesses and improve the suggests the equestrian center may require ongo - community’s visibility to potential residents. ing subsidy but will provide an important center for community interaction and outdoor recreation. Create a beach house to provide residents with a connection to the Gulf . The beach house would en - able residents to enjoy the ocean without living in Establish a Regular Program of hurricane-risk areas and would ameliorate Tradi - Community Events tion’s lack of beach access. Tradition could inte - Regular programs and events will sustain com- grate shuttle service to the beach house into the munity life by engaging residents and creating overall transportation strategy discussed later strong social networks. Programs should encour - in this report. age healthy lifestyles and promote sustainability Provide a nondenominational chapel for worship, values. Residents in sustainable communities rely weddings, and community gatherings. Chapels on community events and programs to meet one prove a popular and visible symbol of a commu - another and establish friendly relationships, share nity’s diversity in many new towns. common interests, and participate in continuous neighborhood improvement. Establish a farmers market to connect residents to local growers and nutritious food. The market Community programs should start immediately could start at the Village Center and move to the and grow as the community’s population increases. Town Center as development progresses. The The sponsor should assign the community pro - market requires limited investment and will also gram to an existing staff member and create a help draw potential residents into the community. new position to manage programs as the number The U.S. Department of Agriculture can provide of residents increases. The sponsor should regu - resources to assist in establishing the market. larly monitor residents’ satisfaction with the pro - gram and ensure that programs support the com - Long Term munity’s sustainability goals. Build one golf course at Tradition , instead of the two courses currently planned. The golf course The panel recommends the following actions to should support sustainability goals by achieving build community programs: Audubon International or equivalent certification Immediate and including a state-of-the-art irrigation system that uses secondary water to maintain the grass Establish community events and activities when and low-impact drainage systems to minimize run- the first residents arrive . Activities should occur off into natural waterways. Audubon International on a regular basis, monthly at a minimum. In the certification recognizes courses that mitigate eco - short term, a member of the current team should logical impact and provide habitat for birds. organize and implement activities. Over time, a formal homeowners association could assume Plan for long-term civic needs, including a town management of events and programs. Basic events hall, fire stations, police stations, and churches . could include holiday celebrations, a new-resident The sponsor should engage leaders of various welcome party, movie nights, and play groups.

16 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Midterm Immediate Expand community programming as Tradition’s Create a long-term education master plan for population grows . Expanded activities could in - Tradition that includes infrastructure, number clude organized interest clubs (book clubs, wine and type of educational institutions, location, tasting, bible study), trail walks, annual events, teacher support strategy, funding, resources, and community gardens events, teenager play groups so on. The sponsor should create the plan in part - or “nights out,” sporting events (5K runs, pickup nership with relevant authorities, organizations, leagues), educational sessions around disaster and interested parties. The plan could also include preparedness and other topics, and the like. Over an academy for sciences and the humanities for time, the sponsor may need to hire a “community gifted high school students, a laboratory school, a director” to coordinate, plan, and design programs. charter high school for training students in sus - tainable building trades and crafts, a charter ele - Use Tradition’s fiber-optic infrastructure to estab - mentary school for excellence in reading, math, lish Web-based community resources , including a and science or other regional educational assets. community intranet with a blog, calendar, The plan should be built around the values of sus - newsletter, bulletin board, account payment sec - tainability, with emphasis on healthy living, re - tion, trip planner, and reservations site. The spon - source efficiency, and environmental stewardship. sor could create a monthly or quarterly printed newsletter to supplement the intranet. Midterm Long Term Develop the first elementary school at Tradition . An elementary school will attract residents, par - Plan the right governance and fee structures to ticularly families with young children, and cannot support community programming . If the sponsor be built too early or too late. The school should be decides to incorporate Tradition, sales taxes could planned and built in partnership with the school support a wider range of community programs, in - district or as a charter school. Moreover, it should cluding concerts, art exhibits, festivals, and fairs. be built to high green building standards. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Schools Establish an Education Master Plan program can help in designing a more sustainable High-quality education is a critical community and school with green building materials, more natural regional need and is a key to increasing sales and light, better indoor air quality, and open spaces. attracting high-quality jobs. During the interview Research shows that children who attend more process, the panel heard great concern about the sustainable schools learn more and obtain higher quality of local education. Families, particularly, standardized test scores. are attracted to communities that provide supe - Long Term rior education for their children. Build additional schools and educational facili - The panel recommends that the sponsor create a ties as the community builds out . long-term education master plan that will provide Establish a sustainable development center for the necessary infrastructure, programs, human the community . The center could host exhibits, resources, and leadership to attract a diverse stu - talks, tours, and other programs. The center’s mis - dent body and meet residents’ expectations. A vi - sion could be to advance sustainable development brant community gets engaged in education and research and education. Programs could include promotes its continuous improvement, adopting lifelong learning as a community value. The early scholarships for college students to conduct sus - inclusion of a high school and university at Tradi - tainability research, grants for schoolteachers to tion represents a great first step that needs to be improve their sustainability skills, partnerships complemented soon. with schools to create sustainability curricula, pro - grams to educate residents about sustainable The sponsor should take the following actions to lifestyles, a land trust for natural habitat areas address Tradition’s educational needs: within Tradition, and exhibits about climate

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 17 change and other global environmental problems. The center would partner with educational insti - tutions, governments, and nonprofit organizations to present programs. The center’s board could ad - vise community leaders on evolving sustainability strategies. The center could also showcase Tradi - tion’s efforts to become sustainable. The building itself could be LEED-Platinum certified.

18 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Environmental Sustainability

nvironmentally sustainable communities • Refine the master plan to be more sustainable strive to integrate natural and human sys - from the start. tems to optimize long-term community • Reduce automobile dependency while improv - E health and well-being. Communities accom - ing mobility and access. plish this goal using various techniques, which in - clude natural infrastructure, green building sys - • Develop an integrated approach to infrastruc - tems, community organization, and high mobility. ture design, development, and management. The techniques must be applied at the regional, • Implement a phased green building system. community, village, and block scales and must shape land use, community design, horizontal and Details on each priority follow. vertical construction, and long-term operations and management. Understand and Connect to the The panel grouped its environmental sustainabil - Bioregional Context ity recommendations under six priorities: Sustainable communities connect the ecosystem of • Understand and connect to the bioregional their site to the ecosystem of their watershed. A context. watershed is a unit of land with a common low point. Ecological connections ensure that the vari - • Understand the land, and leverage the site’s ous energy flows inherent in the site’s natural natural systems. ecosystem are maintained or improved during the

Landscaped medians bring nature into the heart of Tradition.

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 19 Environmental sustain - development process Understand the ability priorities. through the implementa - BIOREGIONAL CONTEXT Land and Leverage tion of ecosystem services. the Site’s Natural This issue is addressed further SITE SYSTEMS in “Understand the Land and Systems Leverage the Site’s Natural Human, social, and economic ac - Systems.” LAND USE/MOBILITY tivities depend on healthy nat - ural systems. The environment In the case of Tradition, the commu - provides food, fiber, species habitat, nity should build regional connections INFRASTRUCTURE solace, and recreation potential in a with the existing cities of Biloxi and Gulf - busy world. A healthy natural environ - port, the Gulf of Mexico, De Soto National ment also provides services—it cleanses GREEN Forest, Tiger Creek, and the Biloxi and BUILDING water and air and slows stormwater Tchoutacabouffa river basins. Effectively runoff. For example, the local woodland leveraging regional connections addresses both habitats can aid flood protection by slowing social and environmental sustainability goals and the passage of water into watercourses. Ser - should be dealt with through programs, partner - vices provided by the natural environment are ships, and construction techniques that tie Tradi - referred to as ecosystem functions and have a tion to the natural ecosystems. measurable human and economic value. The habi - tats and organisms that give rise to the ecological The panel recommends the following actions to processes are described as the ecological assets, foster connections to the bioregional context: and they should be protected, as with any eco - nomic resource, to ensure ecosystem services are Immediate maintained. Execute an environmental analysis of the re - gional watersheds to gain a clear understanding of Tradition should aim to enhance ecosystem ser - their overall hydrology, species interactions, flora, vices by providing a properly understood, de - and fauna. signed network of ecological connectivity. Good ecological structure not only helps biodiversity, Determine critical connections for water flow and but it also enhances amenities that promote com - species migration , and within the community munity health and well-being. The tools used to build vehicular and pedestrian bridges, habitat protect the ecological assets and processes can be overpasses, and necessary flood control devices to called “green infrastructure.” Tradition should de - protect those connections. Implementation should velop its green infrastructure in partnership with continue throughout the project’s life. De Soto National Forest and the Nature Conser - vancy. Federal funds may be available for refor - Establish a partnership with the U.S. Forest Ser - estation efforts. vice at the De Soto National Forest to allow inte - gration and connection of its trail system and for - The panel recommends the following actions to est management strategy to Tradition. leverage the site’s natural systems: Immediate Establish an ongoing monitoring system for water quality and quantity, species migration, and Establish a natural assets inventory , and prepare biodiversity. Continue monitoring throughout the a natural assets management plan. project’s life. Identify opportunities, a strategic plan, and a best Midterm practices manual for sustainable urban drainage , including creating a reed-bed system or con - Establish the Tradition beach house and marina structed wetlands for biofiltration. on Biloxi Beach , and establish a partnership with the Coast Transit Authority to provide express Build a forest trail network , and enhance ecologi - service from Tradition to the beach house. (Buy cal connections within the site and in connection land now.) with the region.

20 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Implement a successional planting strategy for wide range of active and passive outdoor recre - existing slash pine woodlands to transition to na - ational activities, such as hike/bike trails, outdoor tive hardwood forests. Establish a nursery on site discovery and play facilities, community gardens, to provide saplings for planting. and conservation lands for animal and bird habi - tats and observation. The panel offers recommen - Midterm dations to improve the master plan in the follow - Identify sites, strategies, and standards for green ing subgroups. roofs on large buildings , including retail structures . Refine the Open-Space Plan Establish a natural environment interpretation Open space provides value in many ways. Resi - and education program . dents value proximity and access to open space and are willing to pay a premium to live adjacent Long Term to conservation land. Open space also provides functional and ecological value for rainwater man - Explore potential for carbon trading using re - agement, animal habitat, and recreation. Tradi - tained or enhanced forest resources to offset Tra - tion’s open-space plan should consider more than dition’s carbon emissions. just wetlands as the spine of the open-space sys - Continue monitoring and reporting on the health tem. Identify ecologically valuable land that of natural systems and implementing green should be included in the open-space system, such infrastructure. as animal habitats. Although golf should be in - cluded at Tradition, consider reducing the number Explore potential for carbon neutrality and there - of courses and replan one of the golf courses as after carbon absorption. Tradition’s natural/open-space system.

Refine the Master Plan to Be More The panel recommends the following actions to re - fine the open-space plan: Sustainable from the Start Immediate The current Tradition Master Plan reflects the Create a comprehensive, diverse, and connected conventional master-planned community model. open-space plan for Tradition that is based on the Because of the limited development at Tradition on- and off-site natural and ecological systems. to date, the sponsor can recast the master plan to provide a more progressive framework for devel - Use a density gradient/transect approach as a oping Tradition as a model sustainable master- way to reorganize the master plan . The current planned community. master plan does not create a hierarchy of uses from low to high density in way that provides an The recast master plan should use existing natural interesting and diversified land use plan. systems as the organizing force for land uses. Tra - dition can be a community that is characterized by Rethink/Relocate the Town-Center Core a vibrant and robust natural open-space system The current town-center plan is organized around that provides ecological, recreational, and eco - three nodes, anchored by the university, a research nomic value to its residents. Open space should be node, and a retail area. Wetland areas divide the planned and programmed as a primary land use three anchor areas. The panel recommends ensur - just like residential and commercial uses. Surveys ing that the town-center plan encourages a mix of consistently show that a high percentage of buy - uses, particularly residential, in each node. Fur - ers in master-planned communities value access to thermore, the panel recommends creating alter- conservation land and trail systems over most native transportation routes, starting with pedes - other community amenities, including golf. trian connections, within and among the three nodes. The panel also suggests exploring the fea - Tradition offers an opportunity to provide a high- sibility of relocating the town center with Tradi - quality green infrastructure that could include a tion Parkway as its central spine rather than its

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 21 Tradition’s open-space plan should connect development areas and link to surrounding nat - Key ural systems. Wetlands Conservation Land/Golf Course Neighborhood Parks

way Park ition Trad Tr ad it io n

a y

Organizing development Key densities along a transect Town Center will distribute uses from Village Center highest to lowest density Mixed-Density Residential across the site, eventually Rural Lots The Village fading to open space. at Tradition

Conservation Land Area rkway n Pa ditio T Tra rad iti on P a rk w a y

Golf Course Area 67

22 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT The town-center plan could use Tradition Park - 1 way as its central spine and link uses with short 1/4 mile walks and alternative transportation options.

Tr ad iti on 3 P 3 a rk w a y 1/4 mile

67 Wetlands

5 Key 7 1 Civic Core 2 Education Campus 6 3 Office/Retail 4 4 Big-Box Retail 67 5 Office Campus 6 Incubator Warehouses 7 Medical Facility 8 William Carey University

boundary. This change would provide a larger tion of Highway 67 and Tradition Parkway to take area of contiguous, developable land and reduce advantage of highway access. the effect of development on sensitive wetlands. Revise the Village Plan The panel recommends exploring the following op - tions for revising the town-center plan: The panel believes that the existing village plan focuses too much on high-end buyers. The panel Immediate recommends that the Village Center nonresiden - Explore the feasibility of reorganizing the town tial program be reduced in size and that the resi - center around Tradition Parkway as its central spine. dential product in the Village be more broadly di - versified in price point. Diversification of price Ensure that the plan creates a mix of uses , includ - points will appeal to a broader range of buyers. ing residential, an activity node, and walkable con - Diversifying price points will foster a diverse, so - nections within and among the nodes. cially sustainable community. Relocate the currently planned research area from the town-center plan to the southeast corner The panel recommends the following actions to re - of the existing town-center parcel at the intersec - vise the village plan:

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 23 N

Phase 2 Phase 3

Phase 1

Phase 4

Traditio n P ar kw ay

Smaller lots in future Immediate The reduction in vehicle miles traveled by single- phases of the Village will Replan the Village to include a broader range of occupant vehicles is a key measure for achieving diversify housing price single-family and multifamily units , and increase environmental sustainability. A good transporta - points. the unit count to approximately 1,200 units. tion plan starts with a strong land use plan that ef - ficiently mixes uses to create walkability and con - Reduce Automobile Dependency While nectivity and that leverages communications technology to reduce the need to travel for work Improving Mobility and Access or information. The next step is to design and fa - As a sustainable community, Tradition should cilitate a seamless web of transportation modes, make it easy for residents to access community fa - including biking and walking, that offers maxi - cilities, employment, and homes without relying mum mobility and minimum use of fossil fuels. on their private vehicles. Providing nonautomo - Technology plays a role by offering clean fuels and bile transportation options is a hallmark of sus - vehicles that produce low emissions. tainable communities. Using conventional vehicles Many resources and partners are available to help powered by fossil fuel as the primary means of Tradition achieve these goals. Depending on de - transportation for most people would represent a mand and site design, the Coast Transportation significant environmental challenge and lower the Authority can deliver services ranging from spe - quality of life for residents by increasing stress, cial transportation for the disabled and elderly to contributing to respiratory problems, decreasing vanpools and fixed-route, scheduled bus service. family time because of long commute times. Tradi - Federal and state transportation funds are avail - tion can foster a healthier community and a able for transportation enhancements such as bike healthier planet by incorporating a diverse mix of and pedestrian trails. Advice on technical matters transportation options and optimizing linkages be - and best practices is available from a range of gov - tween them. ernment and nonprofit sources to assist in plan -

24 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Diverse housing sizes in the Village will create opportunities to attract a mix of residents while uphold - ing the high design stan - dards already established.

ning, designing, and funding of transportation sys - local weather in Tradition, which is relatively tems, streets, and public spaces and trails. warm, could add to the success of such a system.

The panel offered its mobility recommendations in Several examples of successful bicycle-sharing the following subgroups: programs exist in Europe and the United States. Design and Implement a Multimodal System of Costs to the sponsor for a bicycle-sharing program Transportation Alternatives include purchasing bikes and installing racks. The Tradition should feature a multimodal transporta - user picks up a bicycle at a rack (for a nominal fee tion system that provides residents the opportu - or for free), uses it, and then returns the bicycle at nity to go from one place to another without dri - another rack. This system helps the user avoid ving. The system may include internal routes and having to purchase the bike and having to return external routes that would connect residents and it to the starting point of the trip. visitors from Biloxi, Gulfport, and other entertain - For those having to carry more things, having to ment, dining, and employment centers. The sys - transport more people, or wanting to avoid the tem should offer seamless connections between Gulf Coast’s frequent rain, another possibility is modes and easy access to schedules, easily ac - an electric car. Some, like the GEM (Global Elec - quired travel passes, well-designed transfer facili - tric Motorcars) brand, can be plugged in for ties, and economic incentives such as discounts for recharge at standard outlets, they can reach multiple rides. Although full implementation speeds of up to 25 miles per hour, and they are ob - would be a long-term goal, early planning should viously more environmentally benign than con - consider the need for bus stops, shelters, and ventional vehicles. Their price is comparatively other system requirements. high, but again, they could be part of a share pro - Alternative transportation strategies, such as gram, or in some cases, their cost could be embed - bicycle-sharing programs, could be implemented ded in the price of high-end homes. A car-sharing on a trial basis with as few as 100 residents. The program could also include other types of models.

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 25 As an example, pickup trucks could be shared and portant in the warm Mississippi climate) that will used when needed, allowing families to own small encourage walking and use of the public domain. cars for their day-to-day needs, but providing a solution for those cases when they need to carry Successful urban places, such as the experimental new village of Poundbury—on the outskirts of large cargo. Dorchester in the county of Dorset, England— The panel recommends the following actions to view streets as public spaces that are shared by provide alternative transportation options: people and vehicles and also contribute to urban form. Properly designed streets are safe and vital; Immediate they enable greater density than conventiona l Plan transportation services with Coast Trans - automobile-first standards for street design. Streets portation Authority , Gulfport-Biloxi International can be designed using proven traffic-calming and Airport, and other public and private transporta - urban design models. Organizations such as the tion providers. Test a local, neighborhood circula - Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment tor, or a ride-on-demand route and vehicle. and the Congress for the New Urbanism can pro - Explore uses of the fiber-optic system to enhance vide inspiration and technical support for this ap - mobility , support telecommuting, and deliver proach. The master plan should incorporate such transit schedules and information. treatments where appropriate. The panel recommends the following actions to Review emerging car-sharing programs and free create pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly streets: bike programs to assess what might work best for Tradition. Immediate Midterm Place a priority on the careful and thoughtful design of streets , sidewalks, and the adjoining Implement shuttle service , using low-emission, public realm to make sure pedestrian activity is clean-fuel vehicles. both functionally accommodated and a pleasant Initiate pilot regional transport services . Assist experience. local providers in obtaining necessary government Midterm funding for expanded services. Work with nonprofit organizations such as the Set up pilot car-sharing and free bike programs for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, local transportation residents within the community. Begin to offer res - providers, and the Mississippi Department of idential products that provide only one-car park - Transportation , to obtain enhancement and other ing, and rely on use of the car-sharing program. funds to support trails and street-side and public Long Term space improvements. When a critical mass of the community has been Long Term built, transition support of the internal and exter - The success of street and public space trees, public nal transit routes to the Coast Transit Authority . spaces, and trails depends as much on long-term Design Pedestrian- and Bicycle-Friendly Streets maintenance as on being built in the first place . A and Trails good management plan will combine public, pri - vate, and volunteer attention to this task. Tradition is already planning for and building side - walks and trails, which are the first components of Develop an Efficient Goods-Delivery System a walkable community. The system should be en - Tradition should strive to reduce inefficiencies in hanced to enable residents to access most activity goods delivery. Although goods distribution by centers on foot, by bicycle, or in a wheelchair. The companies such as FedEx and UPS by definition continued incorporation of trees along the streets means fewer individual trips, much inefficiency and in public spaces would make the streets and still exists in the current system, caused by less- public spaces more beautiful and provide shade (im - than-full delivery vehicles, particularly on return

26 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT trips. Tradition cannot solve all these inefficien - Roads, Trails, and Paths cies, but it may have local synergistic opportuni - Tradition should offer an integrated system of ties to reduce them. roads, trails, and paths that provide access for Immediate movement of people and vehicles. The system should be built with locally available, low-impact Explore options for delivery of packages and gro - materials and labor to further support Tradition’s ceries and using locally grown food that will re - sustainability. The panel recommends the follow - duce redundant trips, half-empty carriers, and empty return trips. ing actions to create a roads, trails, and paths system: Research and identify possible partnerships with Immediate delivery services . Use permeable paving where practicable , and ex - Midterm plore use of locally available paving materials. Implement pilot programs , such as options for daytime package delivery to community centers Develop alternative design standards to minimize when residents are at work. road widths and incorporate other sustainable de - sign features.

Develop an Integrated Approach to Provide trail and path network linkages to the Infrastructure Design, Development, Town Center. and Management Drainage and Water Quality Adopting an integrated approach to infrastructure Tradition should incorporate its drainage and design, development, and management will reduce water-quality infrastructure with existing natural development costs and inherent risks while maxi - systems. Understanding and planning to use the mizing a broad range of benefits. Integration site’s natural bioregional systems can further re - means designing infrastructure that works with duce long-term liability and maintenance costs. the project’s natural systems. For all actions, the panel recommends that moni - toring and adoption of new technology continue Tradition should embrace a more integrated and over time. The panel recommends the following holistic approach to infrastructure planning. To re - actions to enhance drainage and water-quality duce capital costs, maximize the long-term value systems: of the community, and reduce long-term operating and maintenance costs, the sponsor should rethink Immediate infrastructure elements using a whole-systems Develop an enhanced stormwater management and progressive approach that captures the best system , and redesign the lake to be a functional practices of sustainable infrastructure. For exam - water-quality element in the system. ple, the sponsor should take advantage of opportu - nities to link the conventional infrastructure (such Install additional erosion control measures . as roads, storm drainage, and street/landscape) Utilities with well-designed natural systems (such as land - Communities can significantly advance their scaped bioswales integrated into a functional lake sustainability by building and managing more and drainage system). In this example, an inte - sustainable utility systems and encouraging con - grated approach will reduce costs of storm- servation among their residents. The panel en - drainage piping and improve the water quality of courages the sponsor to explore opportunities the project’s runoff while potentially creating real to integrate natural systems into the water and estate premiums. sewer system, explore more sustainable sources The panel grouped its infrastructure recommen - for electricity, and continuously explore and adopt dations into the following subsections. new technology. As with all recommendations, the

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 27 Green building techniques could help reduce energy consumption and create a sustainable community at Tradition while respecting the established traditional architecture standards.

panel encourages the sponsor to monitor the suc - MBR (membrane bioreactors), or constructed cess of sustainability efforts over time. wetlands.

Using linkages that “close the loop” in the move - Implement erosion control measures , and install ment of people, goods and services, and wet and bioswales and other landscaping to help in storm- dry utilities will help reduce maintenance costs, create community amenities that improve the sus - water management. tainability of the community, and provide ameni - Conduct an energy assessment for the community , ties that enhance the financial value of the com - munity. The panel recommends the following and explore alternative clean sources and uses actions to support sustainable utilities: of energy.

Immediate Include productive landscaping and community Establish a water balance model for the commu - gardens , and identify a climate-appropriate land - nity , and then project current baseline use to eval - scaping palette. uate the magnitude of change required. Develop appropriate standards to achieve balance over Explore on-site energy storage options , possibili - time. ties for distributing energy back to the grid, and Evaluate alternative collection, transmission, cogeneration and trigeneration opportunities. and treatment options for wastewater , including centralized and decentralized approaches such as Design and install a geothermal heat source loop STEP (septic tank effluent pumping), STEG (sep - in the lake during early construction for future tic tank effluent gravity-draining), grinder pumps, connection.

28 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Midterm and Long Term process with experienced design professionals, Explore the feasibility of developing wastewater but it results in significant savings in water and discharge outlets to a biological waste treatment energy—and hence operating costs. facility . To take advantage of green building’s potential to Create a constructed wetland demonstration sys - affect sustainability at the community level, an tem to treat black water and recharge wetlands, analysis of the community’s priorities for sustain - and monitor its performance. Scale up over time. ability should be completed at the beginning. Waste Management Through this analysis, the focus, emphasis, and metrics of what the program is meant to accom - Reducing waste produced by the community cre - plish can be determined. ates a healthier community and a healthier planet. At Tradition, the sponsor should lead efforts to re - From this baseline, programs typically fall into duce community waste by encouraging recycling, two categories: prescriptive or performance providing alternative waste management opportu - based. Prescriptive programs define what a nities, and continuously monitoring and adopting builder or developer must do to achieve an implied new technology. The panel recommends the fol - set of goals (for example, use HVAC with 85 per - lowing actions to manage waste: cent efficiency rating; put air-conditioning duct - Immediate work in air-conditioned space). Performance- Develop a waste management plan , including a based programs define what goal needs to be management strategy for green waste resulting achieved (for example, reduce energy use by 30 from clearing the land. percent) and allow the builder or developer to de - termine its preferred method. Establish a community recycling program for household, business, and green waste streams. In markets where the concept of green building is new, prescriptive programs may be most effective Analyze the feasibility of using biomass for energy . because a builder’s limited resources (time, money, Midterm and Long Term focus) can be spent on implementing the tech - Design and implement a construction waste di - niques, training, and finding sources for required version program consistent with green building materials. Over time, as practices become more standards. mainstream, moving to a performance-based sys - tem may be better suited to help achieve the com - Implement a Phased Green Building munity’s stated goals while also allowing the Program within Tradition builders to innovate and use different means and methods on their projects. Green building has rapidly become the most ac - cepted tool for building structures that are more At the community level, green building programs resource efficient, healthier to occupy, and less are typically required by the master developer damaging to their site and region. Currently, and apply to anyone that is building or developing green building is being promoted as a significant products within the community. The program or method to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions or level of attainment can be made part of the pur - carbon footprint because such products use less chase and sale contract and then reinforced in de - energy on an ongoing basis than conventionally tail in the community’s design standards. built structures. Programs currently exist to either guide or certify Key elements of a green building program address designers, developers, and contractors on how to where the building is sited and its orientation, build more green. These programs were devel - how the site is prepared, how the building is con - oped by a number of organizations that could structed, and what materials are used. A green serve as valuable resources and partners for Tra - building program often requires a modified design dition. They include the U.S. Green Building

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 29 Council (www.usgbc.org), a national nongovern - Construct all Tradition-initiated buildings to a mental organization that authored the highly re - recognized standard (LEED for nonresidential, garded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Envi - Earthcraft, or other for residential) to better un - ronment Design) program for new construction. derstand market acceptance and construction is - Another regional resource and partner is the sues. Anticipate a 2 to 5 percent cost premium Atlanta-based Southface Energy Institute, which over conventional construction. has developed both a residential green building Research potential training partners and grants program (Earthcraft) for hot, moist climates and a to begin training builders and their trades in green community certification. The U.S. Environ - green building. mental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Implement the Tradition green building training America program (in association with its Florida- program in conjunction with identified partners designated contractor) could provide valuable (technical school, local home builders association, guidance in developing a program that will have or others). the most effect, given the region’s difficult climatic Midterm issues and the local construction trades’ lack of green building experience. Building on knowledge gained in the immediate term, expand target to attain LEED-Silver certifi - The panel recommends the following actions to de - cation for all nonresidential buildings being con - sign and implement a green building program for structed in Tradition. Cost premium should de - Tradition: cline as green building practices become more commonplace. Immediate Complete a projection of community energy use, Long Term water use, and waste generation over Tradition’s Refine green building program to attain ultimate buildout using conventional building techniques. targets necessary to meet metrics defined in the baseline business-as-usual model . Establish targets for reduction from this potential . Define what role green building should play in meeting those targets. Frame Tradition’s green building strategy around this analysis.

30 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Measuring Success

he panel recommends establishing quantita - expand, and weight this list to reinforce the com - tive targets for sustainability at Tradition munity’s sustainability vision. and monitoring these targets over time. Tra - T dition’s management team should review Tradition can use a variety of tools to report on the measures, celebrate the community’s achieve - the community’s achievement of its sustainability ments, and identify areas to improve the commu - goals and to encourage focus on specific goals. nity’s sustainability. Through the recommended Gulf Coast Institute for Sustainable Technology and the Tradition sus - Over time, the leadership could revise the targets tainable development center, the community could to ensure that the community continuously strives sponsor an annual or biannual Tradition sustain - for a balanced approach in achieving social, envi - ability conference to review, analyze, and discuss ronmental, and economic sustainability. Concrete the metrics of sustainability at Tradition and to measures and reliable monitoring are the key to evaluate innovations emerging from Tradition as ensuring and communicating Tradition’s role as a a living laboratory of the techniques of sustain - model for sustainable community development ability. Tradition’s communication system and so - and management. cial organizations can also help educate and en - cour age residents to adopt sustainable practices The panel recommends that Tradition’s manage - and lifestyles. Throughout the community, the ment create a set of targets based on the panel’s sus tainability targets can be an organizing and work, publications by peer institutions, and inter - energizing element. nal sustainability goals. All targets should reflect the overall vision statement for the community. The table on the following pages suggests mea - sures that Tradition could use to monitor the ef - Targets should measure the community’s success fectiveness of sustainability strategies. The panel in achieving key sustainability benchmarks (i.e., recommends developing these measures to corre - reduction in vehicle miles traveled, reduction in spond to Tradition's sustainability goals and up - carbon emissions, accommodation of diverse in - dating them over time to reflect changing priori - come groups, protection of the environment, and ties and opportunities. more). The figure on the following pages provides examples of possible indicators that can be mea - sured. The panel encourages the sponsor to revise,

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 31 Sustainability Measures

Economic Indicator Unit Jobs/housing balance Ratio of jobs to dwelling units Sales Home sales per year Economic diversity Housing affordability

Social Indicator Unit Participation in community clubs Percentage of residents who belong to at least one club Satisfaction with community Percentage of residents who express satisfaction with the community Academic achievement Standardized test scores (SAT and ACT) Voter participation Percentage of residents who vote in local elections at Tradition precincts Physical activity Percentage of residents who meet the Surgeon General’s minimum exercise requirements

Environmental Indicator Unit Residential energy consumption Energy per square foot per year Commercial energy consumption Energy per square foot per year Residential water consumption Gallons per year per home Commercial water consumption Gallons per year per square foot Greenhouse-gas emissions Tons per year per person Trip generation Trips per household per week Biodiversity Number of species in the community Stormwater quality and quantity Total suspended solids, pollutants, turbidity, and peak volumes

1 The panel defines affordable housing as attainable for households earning area mean income or less. 2 National averages reported by Energy Star. 3 Energy consumption includes fuel consumption, electricity usage, emissions captured by trees, etc.

32 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT How to Measure Compare to Survey employers and calculate in-house Target of 0.5 jobs per dwelling unit Document sales and calculate in-house Local developments

Survey affordable housing inventory 1 Other local communities

How to Measure Compare to

Survey club leaders – Survey residents – Obtain from school district National and state averages Obtain from local government National and state averages Survey residents National averages

How to Measure Compare to Form partnership with utility to regularly obtain data State averages

Analyze bills for each building National averages 2 Form partnership with utility to regularly obtain data State averages Analyze bills for each building National averages

Establish baseline and system for recordin g3 – Conduct periodic studies with a traffic counter National averages Annual monitoring and measurement Predevelopment analyses and surrounding samples Test sampling following storm events Predevelopment analyses and surrounding samples

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 33 About the Panel

Daniel C. Van Epp Stapleton will become a community of 12,000 homes and 13 million square feet of office and retail space Panel Chair as well as over two square miles of parks and open San Diego, California space. By late 2007, more than 3,200 Stapleton homes had been sold and occupied with more than Executive vice president and chief operating offi - 2 million square feet of commercial space leased. cer for Newland Communities, Van Epp has over - Additionally, Baker has been actively involved in all responsibility for its four operating regions of the early visioning, design, and marketing for the Newland Communities and its regional presidents 12,000-acre Mesa del Sol development in Albuquer- nationwide. He is also heading up Newland’s new que, New Mexico. urban mixed-use efforts and its 10 million-square- foot Union Park project in Las Vegas, Nevada. He From 1986 to 1992, Baker was vice president in brings three decades of experience in real estate charge of Forest City’s San Francisco office and, development and leadership to the panel. from 1995 to 1998, was vice president –marketing for Irvine Apartment Communities, a division of Van Epp was senior vice president of the Rouse the Irvine Company, owner of the 90,000-acre master- Company and president of its affiliate, the Howard planned Irvine Ranch in southern California. Hughes Corporation, where he was responsible for the planning, development, and production of nu - Baker is a graduate of Cornell University and a merous residential, retail, and office projects total - member of the Urban Land Institute, the Cornell ing millions of square feet. While at the Howard Real Estate Council, and the University of Colorado Hughes Corporation, he led the development of Real Estate Council. His community involvement the 22,500-acre Summerlin community in Las Vegas . includes serving on the boards of the Public Edu - He has been the recipient of numerous industry cation Business Coalition, Metro Denver Economic and civic awards. Development Corporation, CTEK Stapleton busi - ness incubator, and Stapleton Foundation. Van Epp is a cum laude graduate of Virginia Tech and a trustee of the Urban Land Institute. Francisco Benavides Hank Baker Murray, Utah Denver, Colorado Benavides is the sustainable development, health, safety, and environment manager for Kennecott During his 30 years in real estate development, Land, a land development company whose goal is Baker has had direct responsibility for the acquisi - to build enduring communities on Salt Lake Val - tion, design, development, and management of ley’s West Bench. Kennecott Land is a subsidiary over $1 billion in urban real estate projects. He of Rio Tinto, a leading global mining company. Bena - opened Forest City’s Denver office in June 1998 vides’ role at Kennecott Land includes orchestrat - and is currently responsible for developing the ing its efforts in sustainable development, posi - overall image and marketing efforts for the 4,700- tioning the company for recognized excellence in acre mixed-use Stapleton Redevelopment project environmental stewardship, and realizing the as well as coordinating efforts relative to economic company’s commitment to an injury- and illness- development, education, and telecommunications. free workplace. His work has help embed sus - Located ten minutes east of downtown Denver, tainability in how Kennecott operates, and it has

34 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT demonstrated the tangible benefits of operating toward ecology, particularly that of systems. He is under a sustainability model. The company has ob - interested in the way settlements work. As a mem- tained various national and international certifica - ber of the Society for the Protection of Ancient tions and awards for building design, environmen - Buildings, he has an active interest in vernacular tal management, outstanding safety performance, architecture, particularly farmsteads and mills. and sustainability reporting. Corker is currently working on a BRE Trust proj - Previously, Benavides held environmental, health, ect exploring the characteristics of sustainable and safety management positions at Intel Corpo - communities. He has wide experience of participa - ration in different countries. He holds a PhD in tory planning, contributing to design panels, de - environmental science with a policy specialization sign coding, and negotiation. and a master’s degree in chemical engineering with Since joining BRE, he has been proactive in sus - an environmental focus. He has been a speaker at tainable communities research and practice. He meetings organized by ULI, the U.S. Environmen - has contributed to a range of Enquiry by Designs tal Protection Agency, and other organizations. for the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environ - ment (Walton on the Naze, Ballater, and Ellon). Hooper Brooks He is also BRE’s coordinator for the Prince’s London, United Kingdom Foundation demonstration house.

Brooks is the director of international programs For five years, Corker worked in local govern - for His Royal Highness Prince Charles’ Founda - ment, most recently as a natural environment tion for the Built Environment and responsible for team leader managing biodiversity, landscape ar - representing the organization internationally and chitecture, and environmental impact assessment developing and managing the foundation’s interna - for a county council. His work included develop - tional portfolios. ing Chester Heritage Farm, a historic Roman and medieval landscape, identifying sustainable direc - Throughout his career, Brooks has been dedicated tions of growth using environmental appraisal to promoting sustainable planning and design. Pre- viously, he was program director for the environ - techniques, reviewing environmental impact as - ment at the Surdna Foundation in New York City, sessments, and contributing to supplementary a family foundation with an 80-year history. This planning guidance. Before that, he was a borough past year, Brooks has had an appointment as Lec - council’s sustainable development coordinator. turer teaching a seminar on land use planning for His responsibilities included Upton, a sustainable master’s degree students at Yale University’s urban extension, farmers markets, and the Up - School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. per Nene Valley Country Park. Planning work in - cluded sustainability appraisal of local develop - Brooks received a BA from Harvard College, ma - ment frameworks, reviewing environmental joring in architectural sciences, and a master’s de - impact assessments, writing the council’s sustain - gree in landscape architecture from the Harvard able development strategy, and devising an urban Graduate School of Design. He is a former vice forest strategy. president at the Regional Plan Association, ad - dressing conservation and development issues in Corker spent ten years working in agricultural the New York tristate metropolitan region. colleges, teaching and researching sustainable land use, developing curriculum, leading academic Nicholas R. Corker staff, managing a sustainable farm project, and undertaking extension work. His early experience Watford, United Kingdom included leading conservation volunteer teams for Corker has over 20 years’ experience in the pri - the British Trust and running a rural practical vate, public, and voluntary sectors. As a sustain - conservation business in North Wales. He is a able development professional, he has a leaning qualified drystone waller and forestry worker.

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 35 Patrick Curran Jim Heid Los Angeles, California San Francisco, California

Curran is an associate with SWA Group, an urban Heid is a real estate developer, adviser, and au - design and landscape architecture firm in Los An - thor, focusing on creation of communities that pro - geles, California. Over his ten-year career, he has vide a positive contribution to their environment, worked on a wide range of project scales with a region, and residents. In 2000, he founded Urban - rigorous focus on sustainability and the operative Green, LLC, to act as development partner and nature that landscape contributes to the develop - adviser to legacy landowners, institutions, and ment of urban plazas in regional development plans. land development companies that embrace princi - ples of sustainability. He is currently an adviser to His practice concentrates on the urban –wild land national land developers and legacy landowners interface, the collaboration of design with science, working to pursue sustainable development at the and the opportunities to use landscape as a means community scale in more than 14 states and four of finding sensitive solutions to contemporary in - countries. frastructure problems. His project portfolio in - cludes hydrology reclamation strategies, large- Before founding UrbanGreen, Heid worked as a scale landscape restoration, urban parks, and infill land planner and adviser with Design Workshop development project in the United States, New (1987 –1993) and EDAW (1994 –2000), where he Zealand, Mexico, and Asia. also served as chief operating officer and senior vice president. In 1994, he earned a master’s of Most recently, Curran served as the project man - science in real estate development at Massachu - ager for Mountain House Creek, a three-mile, 500- setts Institute of Technology. foot-wide urban infrastructure for a new town in San Francisco’s East Bay. Accommodating 15,000 Heid is a member of the U.S. Green Building, the Congress for New Urbanism, and the American new residents, the restoration project facilitates Society of Landscape Architects. He is a Council stormwater management runoff, wildlife habitat, of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards and community recreation. Currently, he is over - registered landscape architect. seeing the design and planning of a new open-space restoration development in the upper watershed of Kunming, China. He directed the initial master Jeff Kingsbury plan in 2002 and has seen the project through to Zionsville, Indiana its current construction of over 150,000 square meters of mixed-use development and the resto- Kingsbury is the managing principal of Green - ration of over 200 hectares of open space. street Ltd., an Indiana-based real estate develop - ment, brokerage, and consulting firm. His experi - Curran earned a master’s in landscape architec - ence includes more than 15 years in the planning ture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and development of 25 urban, suburban, rural, and and a bachelor’s of landscape architecture from resort master-planned communities in California, the University of Oregon. He is an executive offi - Colorado, Idaho, and Illinois, totaling over 9,000 cer for the American Society of Landscape Archi - homes. He has managed the sale of over 1,000 tects’ Sustainable Sites Initiative, a founding homes and $350 million in residential real estate member of the Kounkey Design Initiative, and a and consulted on planning, development, and cor - porate strategy issues for public and private sec - LEED-accredited professional since 2001. Over tor clients in a dozen states. the past four years, Curran has presented exten - sively at universities and professional organiza - He has held senior executive positions with tions, both domestically and internationally, about McStain Neighborhoods and Durango Mountain the emerging paradigms of sustainability and Resort in Colorado; Kirkwood Mountain Resort infrastructure-based landscapes. in California; Grossman Company Properties in

36 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT Boise, Idaho; and the Shaw Company in Chicago. ulators and oversight groups. He was involved in His homebuilding and project development expe - PNC’s strategic real estate diversification efforts, rience includes some of the leading sustainable de - including acquisitions. In early 2005, he left Pitts - velopment projects in the nation: the 4,700-acre burgh and moved back to the product side of the redevelopment of Denver’s Stapleton Interna - business by taking over responsibility for PNC’s tional Airport, the nation’s largest urban redevel - commercial real estate lending activities in New opment project (ULI Award for Excellence); Bel - Jersey. mar, a 100-acre regional mall redevelopment in Lakewood, Colorado (ULI Award for Excellence); Lashbrook graduated with a BA in political sci - Lowry, a 1,900-acre redevelopment of the Lowry ence and economics from Duke University in 1973 Air Force Base in Denver; Hidden Springs, an and received an MBA from Seton Hall in 1976. He 1,800-acre rural community outside Boise, Idaho; has served on the board of directors of the Na - Prairie Crossing, a 667-acre master-planned com - tional Multi-Housing Council and is a member of munity in Grayslake, Illinois; and Homan Square, the Urban Land Institute, where he chairs that a 55-acre redevelopment of the former Sears, Roe - organization’s Urban Development –Mixed Use buck and Co. world headquarters in Chicago (ULI Gold Council. He has been a ULI Advisory Panel Award for Excellence). member for projects in Washington, D.C., Detroit, Virginia Beach, and Raleigh. He is a member of Kingsbury holds degrees in urban planning and ULI’s Program Committee and currently sits on development and environmental design from the its Policy and Practice Committee. He is a mem - College of Architecture and Planning, Ball State ber of the board of directors for the New Jersey University, where he is also adjunct professor of Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Cur - urban planning. He is an author of the book Devel - rently residing in Hopewell, New Jersey, he was a oping Sustainable Planned Communities (ULI, member of the Township of Hampton, Pennsylva - 2007) as well as a teacher and frequent speaker nia, Planning Board for six years, chairing it for on sustainable development issues. four years.

William G. Lashbrook III Franklin A. Martin East Brunswick, New Jersey Boise, Idaho

Lashbrook began a banking career with the Bank Martin is the managing member of Martin Com - of New York in 1973. He held various positions in munity Development, LLC. He is responsible for corporate lending before moving into real estate the development of Hidden Springs, Idaho, an in 1984 and has been active in commercial real es - 1,800-acre planned community in the Boise front tate lending ever since. He left the Bank of New foothills. Hidden Springs was the 2000 recipient of York in 1993 to join MidLantic as the real estate the “Best in American Living” Platinum Award credit officer, a position he retained while moving for Smart Growth sponsored by Professional to the Pittsburgh headquarters, following PNC’s Builder magazine and the National Association of acquisition of that bank in 1996. Moving to the Home Builders. production side in 1998, Lashbrook started a resi - dential lending group that focused on national Between 1971 and 1997, Martin was responsible homebuilders and multifamily lending. for the development of more than 3,000 homes, primarily in the metropolitan Chicago market. In 1999, Lashbrook started a new position in port - From 1989 to 1997, he was chief operating officer folio and business risk management within PNC’s of Shaw Homes, Inc., an affiliate of the Shaw Com - Real Estate Group. The goal was to operate real pany. During this period, he oversaw the develop - estate lending as a business, not just as a portfolio ment of several award-winning communities, in - of loans, which required the development of new cluding Garibaldi Square, Homan Square, Luther tools and systems for risk/return analysis, prof - Village, Prairie Crossing, and the Reserve at the itability reporting, and interfacing with bank reg - Merit Club.

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 13–18, 2008 37 Martin is chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Sus - Board, including two years as chairman. He tainable Development Council and the ULI Idaho earned a master’s of city planning and an MS in District Council. He is a member of the National architectural studies from the Massachusetts In - Association of Home Builders and the Ada County, stitute of Technology and a BS in land economics Idaho, Planning and Zoning Commission. Martin from the University of Wisconsin –Madison. has chaired six ULI Advisory Service panels and Merrill is a member of the Urban Land Insti - served on two other panels. He received a bache - tute’s Sustainable Development Council. lor’s degree in economics from Hanover College and an MBA in finance from the University of Thomas Murphy Chicago. He is a licensed real estate broker in Idaho and Illinois. Washington, D.C. A senior resident fellow, ULI/Klingbeil Family Frederick L. Merrill, Jr. Chair for urban development, Murphy joins six Watertown, Massachusetts other ULI senior resident fellows who special - ize in public policy, retail/urban entertainment, For more than 25 years, Merrill has led master- transportation/infrastructure, housing, real estate planning and implementation strategies for com - finance, and environmental issues. His extensive mercial real estate development, large-scale land experience in urban revitalization—what drives development, master-planned communities, insti - investment, what ensures long-lasting commitment tutional landholdings, downtowns and urban dis - —is a key addition to the senior resident fellows’ tricts, and military base reuses. He directs inter - areas of expertise. disciplinary planning and design teams across all phases of planning and implementation, includ - Since January 2006, Murphy has served as ULI’s ing public participation and consensus building Gulf Coast liaison, helping coordinate with the throughout the entire governmental/regulatory leadership of New Orleans and the public to ad - approval process. vance the implementation of rebuilding recom - mendations made by ULI’s Advisory Services Merrill’s current practice includes leading an in - panel last fall. In addition, he worked with the terdisciplinary team in the transformation of a Louisiana state leadership, as well as with leader - low-density residential master-planned commu - ship in hurricane-affected areas in Mississippi, Al - nity into a higher-density mixed use “medical city” abama, and Florida, to identify areas appropriate with a range of residential, commercial, retail, and for ULI involvement. civic uses; developing a new high-density sustain - able master-planned community with a broad Before his service as the ULI Gulf Coast liaison, range of commercial and employment uses; envi - Murphy served three terms as the mayor of Pitts - sioning a master plan for a new district related to burgh, from January 1994 through December 2005. a major research university that is based on social, During that time, he initiated a public/private part - economic, and environmental sustainability; form - nership strategy that leveraged more than $4.5 ing a redevelopment strategy for a campus-down - billion in economic development in Pittsburgh. town urban district for a combined city/university Murphy led efforts to secure and oversee $1 bil - client; and transforming a former military base lion in funding for the development of two profes - into a new town with a balance of residential, em - sional sports facilities and a new convention cen - ployment, commercial, and civic uses. ter that is the largest certified green building in the United States. He developed strategic part - A frequent presenter at national planning and real nerships to transform more than 1,000 acres of estate development conferences, Merrill is a co- blighted, abandoned industrial properties into instructor at the Harvard University Graduate new commercial, residential, retail, and public School of Design’s Executive Education Seminar uses, and he oversaw the development of more Program. A resident of Lexington, Massachusetts, than 25 miles of new riverfront trails and urban Merrill served seven years on the town’s Planning green space.

38 A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL REPORT $ ULI–the Urban Land Institute 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Printed on recycled paper. Suite 500 West Washington, D.C. 20007-5201