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Today, Cathy Simon talks to The Real Story about the nature of waterfront development in San Francisco, and how the city and its citizenry had to re-envision a life connected to the water. Cathy talks about how cities became disconnected from their waterfronts in the post-industrial age, and how the waterfronts that we now celebrate had long been abandoned and blighted.

In the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake, when the Embarcadero Freeway came down, San Francisco was suddenly aware of the pedestrian potential of the waterfront, and plans for the reinvention of an underused part of the city sparked interest from planners and architects. Cathy’s discussion of how the waterfront became—again—the site of iconic imagery for the City continues on The Real Story this week.

Thanksgiving traditions are firmly ingrained in the American psyche. Families assemble from far and wide, cook a lot of food, watch a lot of football and generate a lot of household waste (a 25% increase between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, according to RecycleWorks).

Make no mistake: Thanksgiving is a celebration and deserves some festivities. But by planning ahead and making a few changes in your routine, you can green up your Thanksgiving—and even enhance the true meaning of the holiday for your family in the bargain.

Here are some tips:

1.   Shop wisely.
Three big words to remember are seasonal, local and organic. Ask yourself: will anyone really miss the dish of ambrosia or the marshmallows on the yams? Hit your farmer’s market a few days before and buy your produce and eggs. Order an organic, pasture-fed turkey.  Instead of green beans doused in canned mushroom soup, try fresh, lightly steamed beans paired with sautéed mushrooms. People may even appreciate a lighter, fresher, non-processed approach to the Thanksgiving feast.

2.  Travel smart.
If you’re not staying home, be eco-conscious about your travel. Make sure your car is tuned properly and carpool whenever possible. If you’re flying, many airlines offer programs to purchase credits to offset carbon emissions for your flights. If you’re traveling by train, bus or auto, try carbonfund.org or getcarboncreditco2.com and make your holiday carbon neutral.

3.  Use real plates, glassware and cutlery.
If the good china doesn’t get used on Thanksgiving, when will it ever see the light of day? Using real tableware—including cloth napkins—and washing full dishwasher loads of dishes with eco-friendly detergent is the best way to go. Don’t worry if you don’t have enough of one set. Mixing and matching is just fine.

4. Quantity control.
We know it’s a feast, but controlling portions is a good idea. A few leftovers are fine, but keeping the quantity of food within the realm of the reasonable saves money and saves energy for both cooking and storing. Figure one pound of turkey per person and 8 slices per pie.

5.  Decorate au natural.
Decorations that are biodegradable, edible and/or compostable are perfect for your holiday table. Snip some greenery (laurel or evergreen trees work great) from your yard. Scatter some persimmons, gourds or pomegranates. Add a few beeswax candles and—voila!

6.  Do something active.
If the weather’s nice, take a nice walk or play some touch football. Try a board game or family trivia. Keeping the TV off will decrease energy usage and allow people who rarely have a chance to be together the opportunity to visit and talk.

7.  Use the three R’s.
Reduce, recycle and reuse are three excellent words to guide you through a more eco-friendly holiday. Be sure to put all your food scraps in the compost pile or green waste bin.

8.  Give thanks.
It consumes no energy, is nonpolluting and fully sustainable! Enjoy your holiday!

Sources

http://www.greenzer.com/green-thanksgiving_I

http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/daily-green-tips/green-thanksgiving/

http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_plan_a_green_thanksgiving”

http://earth911.com/blog/2009/11/16/8-easy-green-thanksgiving-tips/

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Cathy Simon has seen the attitude of architecture clients warm toward sustainable design in the last fifteen years. No longer seen as a part of the Great Left Coast Agenda, sustainable design today is often judged more on the basis of its cost than on its value to the planet. Says Cathy: green design still DOES cost more—but “less and less more” as materials and construction techniques have evolved. In talking to The Real Story last week, she expressed the opinion that people need to consider the life cycle cost of sustainable design, and not just the initial investment.

Her firm, Perkins + Will, has on its web site the statement: “Although our design may address many people, many places and many cultures, our work speaks to one human being at a time.” Cathy will be talking this week about waterfront design, in San Francisco and around the world.

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Last September, Lisa Marquis Jackson from John Burns Consulting, told The Real Story that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would be reporting a shortfall in its cash reserves. This morning, the New York Times supported Lisa’s contention, reporting that an audit “showed reserves to be 0.53 percent of the total portfolio, far below the 2 percent minimum mandated by Congress and far less than the audit last year had forecast. In 2007, just before housing prices began their worst slump in decades, the reserves were above 6 percent.”

Borrowers drawn to low down payment requirements – 3.5%, as compared to the traditional 20% down payment programs—quadrupled the agency’s mortgages in the last year to $360 billion.

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Retail has a significant part to play in the shaping of a new urbanist community. If the goal of new urbanism is to support community planning that aspires to offering “one stop living”, then it follows that just as one’s home and workplace are a part of the fabric of a community, so are the grocery stores, restaurants, shops and services that improve an area’s quality of life.  Max Reim, founding principal of Live Work Learn Play, an international development and real estate consulting firm, talks to day about the movement away from looking at new community planning as creating suburbs, but instead as villages, with singular personalities.

The Real Story met with Max during the ULI (Urban Land Institute) conference last week.  Max was talking about real estate turnarounds, and instead of focusing only on non-performing assets, he included American towns as worthy subjects for a turnaround effort—to create new jobs for all classes of workers, from blue and white collar to the creative and innovative class; for a sustainable economy, a recreative environment, strong ties to the health and wellness communities, lifelong learning, art, and a thriving urban core, that restores vitality to the downtowns after so many years of seeing the personality towns lost in their shuttered downtowns.

Photo courtesy of Habersham, S.C.

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One of the best-attended panel discussions at last week’s Urban Land Institute fall conference was on real estate turnarounds. An audience representing all aspects of real estate—commercial, residential, industrial and retail—assembled to hear about new ways to look at old projects.

Max Reim, founding principal of Live Work Learn Play in Montreal, talked about the opportunities that the failure of downtown retail space offers its towns. The Real Story followed up with Max afterward to hear more about his views on the future of downtown retail.

According to Max, it is no longer sufficient for a retailer to offer a product and execute a transaction with a buyer—people today are looking for an experience and some sort of social interaction— because they can shop online if purchase is their only goal. He sees the recent downturn as a golden opportunity for towns and retailer associations to take stock of what they have—and think outside the box before they fill the space again. He raises the question—would some of the vacant retail space attract more traffic and better serve the community if it was given another use—in the civic realm, or as an adjunct to education? When assets aren’t utilized, how can we best replace them now and reap benefits socially, culturally and economically for years to come?

With winter a little more than a month away, it’s a great time to take advantage of our beautiful fall weather in the Bay Area. Pick a sunny weekend morning and head out for a hike in one of our East Bay Regional Parks.

The Real Story suggests Tilden Park’s Nimitz Way along the crest of the East Bay Hills. Start at Inspiration Point, just off Wildcat Canyon Road. The Nimitz Way paved trail (perfect for strollers) winds its way through the hills and features frequent benches to sit and take in the views across the bay. There’s lots of poison oak in the woodlands, so be sure to stay on the trail. Nimitz merges with the Bay Area Ridge Trail that leads you on through the redwood and eucalyptus groves.

At about the 1.3-mile mark, you will see a trail to the left marked Wildcat Peak. Take it. A brief, steep climb brings you to the summit (elevation 1211 feet), which affords 360 degree views—Berkeley, the bridges and San Francisco to the west, San Pablo bay to the north, and San Pablo Reservoirs and Mt. Diablo to the east. It’s the perfect vantage point to sit for a few minutes and contemplate the beauty of where we live.

The round trip to the peak and back takes about an hour and a half at a nice steady pace. Take water. Take a hat. And do take advantage of this close-by opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors.