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The Real Story spent some time during PCBC in San Francisco with Jim Heid, founder and president of Urban Green. Looking back on the economic morass of the last five years, Jim thinks the bright spot in so much change is that everyone—builders and government—is paying attention to the overarching issues in the development and how decisions made now will impact people’s lives for years to come.

How are we going to get some critical traction for any kind of meaningful recovery? Jim sees the government nudging the market, and then letting the private sector do what it does best. As socially responsible investing gains interest, so will smart thinking about the built environment.

For more information about Jim Heid and Urban Green, go to www.urbangreen.net.

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Jim Heid, the founder of Urban Green, wants to see California move toward a shared vision of regionalism—but is pragmatic enough to know that he’s not going to be seeing a movement away from the autonomy of cities any time soon.

The Real Story caught up with Jim at the Pacific Coast Builder’s Conference in San Francisco. In an interview from the exhibit hall, Jim talked about the difficulties of bringing SB 375 into popular governance, given the decidedly non-cooperative nature of many towns and cities all over California.

In a cash-strapped state like ours, Jim reasons that a move to embrace regional planning would create a higher efficiency of the limited dollars we have. In his interview with The Real Story, he talks about the success of regionalism in the Commonwealth countries, like the UK. It is clear that Jim is not a silo kind of guy. Urban Green is all about working in an integrative manner with the result of providing positive contributions to people and place. He has taken on an enormous task, advising both the developer community and government agencies with the positive goal of high quality development for the broader market.

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The Pacific Coast Builders Conference has long taken the helm in the conversation about trends and innovation for the building industry. At the 2011 show a few weeks ago, that discussion was in high gear, fueled by a collaboration with West Coast Green, a conference on green innovation for the build environment. We were able to sit down with Jim Heid of Urban Green to get an update on sustainable communities.

As an advisor to the development industry, Jim sees the economic downturn as both a help and a hindrance to sustainable building practices. On the one hand, developers have had more time to explore sustainable approaches that don’t cost more. On the other hand, cost remains a factor—and consumers are not demanding sustainable features.

It seems logical that projects stalled by the recession might be rethought to be more sustainable. But there’s a big roadblock. According to Jim, the expense of another run through the regulatory process is keeping old-school design approaches in play.

Our conversation with Jim will be posted in four segments. Be sure to log on next week for Part 2.

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Sitting out on a sun-dappled hillside, looking out over the fruits, flowers and vegetables growing in abundance at Star Apple Edible Farms, it is easy to imagine living a healthy lifestyle, eating local food, in season. What happens to the sustainable dream when you head back to the City?

According to Stefani Bittner and Leslie Bennett of Star Apple Edible Farms, one can’t live in the City with the sustainability bar set at 100%. What can happen as one becomes more attuned to the benefits of the food revolution is that you grow what you can, and make a habit of visiting one of the many local farmers markets in the area. Says Leslie, “the more you know, the better choices you make.”

The simple farmers market has become a source of civic pride. Alice Waters is invited to the White House to plan a vegetable garden. Stefani and Leslie see these events as evidence that the people living in suburban and urban areas are quite literally, hungry for connection—with their neighbors, their communities and their food. At Star Apple, the owners are on a mission to demystify healthy growing and healthy eating, one garden at a time.

For more information, go to www.starappleediblegardens.com.