Kaid Benfield

Kaid Benfield is the director of the Sustainable Communities and Smart Growth program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, co-founder of the LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system, and co-founder of Smart Growth America. More

Kaid Benfield is the director of the Sustainable Communities and Smart Growth program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, co-founder of the LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system, and co-founder of Smart Growth America. He is the author or co-author of Once There Were Greenfields (NRDC 1999), Solving Sprawl (Island Press 2001), Smart Growth In a Changing World (APA Planners Press 2007), and Green Community (APA Planners Press 2009). In 2009, Kaid was voted one of the "top urban thinkers" on Planetizen.com, and he was named one of "the most influential people in sustainable planning and development" in 2010 by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. He blogs at NRDC's Switchboard.

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How Small Community Parks May Make Cities Safer, More Healthy

How Small Community Parks May Make Cities Safer, More Healthy

A study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has found that green spaces are linked to reduced crime rates More »

The New Diamond Interchange: A Poor Attempt to Create Walkability

The New Diamond Interchange: A Poor Attempt to Create Walkability

Chuck Marohn started a firestorm when he went after the diverging diamond, arguing we need to spend less on over-engineered highways More »

Organic Farm Prepares Veterans for Jobs in Sustainable Agriculture

Organic Farm Prepares Veterans for Jobs in Sustainable Agriculture

At Archi's Acres in California, military veterans can learn organic production methods, farmers market management, and irrigation installation More »

Online Neighborhood-Rating Tool Walk Score Keeps Getting Better

Online Neighborhood-Rating Tool Walk Score Keeps Getting Better

With new features that allow users to calculate commute cost and time and search for housing, Walk Score has a lot of analytic mojo behind it More »

'People Habitat': Inspiring Public Spaces From Around the World

'People Habitat': Inspiring Public Spaces From Around the World

Dysfunctional public spaces inhibit pride and make a community feel abandoned. Great ones can become the heart and soul of a place. More »

The Best Apps for the Environment: Bringing EPA Data to the Masses

The Best Apps for the Environment: Bringing EPA Data to the Masses

From Light Bulb Finder to EarthFriend, the best of the entries submitted to a contest organized by the Environmental Protection Agency More »

Cleveland's Disappearing Warehouse District, Then and Now

Cleveland's Disappearing Warehouse District, Then and Now

Two images, of the district as it appeared in the '60s and as it looks today, came in over Rust Wire, a site about post-industrial cities More »

Moving Off Welfare by Rehabbing Properties for Homes, Skills

Moving Off Welfare by Rehabbing Properties for Homes, Skills

Both vacant properties and distressed populations inhibit cities from reaching their potential as true agents of sustainability More »

The Legacy of 9/11 for Community and the Built Environment

The Legacy of 9/11 for Community and the Built Environment

Have we made security measures less ugly in some places over the last decade? Probably. Is my city more beautiful? I say no. More »

Urbanology: An Online Game to Teach Users About Sustainability

Urbanology: An Online Game to Teach Users About Sustainability

Urbanology is a companion to a large-scale, interactive installation at the on-site BMW Guggenheim Lab, currently in New York City More »

Turning Power Plants Into Green Neighborhood Development

Turning Power Plants Into Green Neighborhood Development

Retired plants have already been left abandoned for years, creating blight while presenting stark portraits of foregone opportunities More »

PlanMaryland: The Free State Gives Smart Growth Another Push

PlanMaryland: The Free State Gives Smart Growth Another Push

Faced with a rapidly expanding and aging population, Maryland is working to figure out how best to use its limited land and resources More »

The Names That Developers and Marketers Give to New Places

The Names That Developers and Marketers Give to New Places

Canyon Lakes was built on a dry hill, Paradise Park is without a park, and Three Rivers Crossing sits miles from the nearest river More »

Green Living: The Case for Garage and Basement Apartments

Green Living: The Case for Garage and Basement Apartments

More and more cities are helping both people and the environment by promoting less typical housing units More »

'The Most Sustainable Trip Is the One You Never Had to Take'

'The Most Sustainable Trip Is the One You Never Had to Take'

Green living advice from Alex Steffen and other leading thinkers on urbanism and sustainability More »

Is This the World's Greenest Neighborhood?

Is This the World's Greenest Neighborhood?

A visit to the 15-acre Canadian development that's leading the way with green design, stormwater recycling, and more More »

The Popsicle and Halloween Tests: What Makes a Place Livable?

The Popsicle and Halloween Tests: What Makes a Place Livable?

Sometimes complicated metrics aren't necessary. Easy ways to know if a neighborhood is well-designed. More »

Walking Is Healthy, So Why Isn't It Safer?

Walking Is Healthy, So Why Isn't It Safer?

Many communities aren't pedestrian-friendly—so people have to choose between being unhealthy and being a bull's-eye More »

Arlington, Virginia: More Evidence That Growth Can Be Green

Arlington, Virginia: More Evidence That Growth Can Be Green

New data show how a well-designed transit corridor has reduced traffic and encouraged walking rather than driving More »

3 Key Environmental Issues Worth Paying Attention To

3 Key Environmental Issues Worth Paying Attention To

If you care about sustainable communities, what topics do you pursue? A leading green organization outlines its priorities. More »

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