Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Green Sprawl?

We've posted before on the importance of incorporating environmentally-sustainable building techniques into projects.

However, this article correctly points out that "green" buildings alone don't equal sustainability:
Several traditional big box retailers, such as Best Buy, have recently announced their intention of building green stores. A number of banks, such as PNC Bank, have also announced the development of green bank branches. In all likelihood, if these buildings achieve a sufficient number of LEED points, they will be certified "green" and may receive significant tax incentives for their efforts.

Most Best Buys and bank branches, however, are located in strip malls with seas of impervious parking lots that are accessible only by car. This phenomenon - where green buildings are located in unsustainable contexts - can be called "green sprawl."