May 12, 2010

REAL ESTATE REVIEW | Volume 39:1
Available now in the Architecture Library
Edited by Margaret McFarland, Director, Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development
Also available for purchase

• The Business Case for Sustainable Buildings by Davor D. Kapelina. The author provides convincing support for the argument that investing in sustainable buildings is not only about making environmentally based decisions. By showing that sustainable buildings positively affect workforce health, safety, and productivity, as well as building occupancy, and employee recruitment and retention, the author demonstrates that investment in sustainable buildings is about making smart top and bottom-line decisions.
  
  
• A Synthesis of Visions: Planning, Politics, and Controversy—Redeveloping Downtown Omaha by Martin Shukert. The article provides an analysis of the planning process, political actions, and policy debates that resulted in a redevelopment plan for Downtown Omaha. This is a great article from a planner involved over more than two decades describing the successes and failures of various planning visions, as well as success and failures of the redevelopment efforts that  have transformed the hometown of the “Oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffett. Definitely worth a read or assigning for extra credit.
  
  
• New Twist on an Old Concept: Master Planned Communities Show Off at The Cliffs in the Western Carolinas by Alan Ruby. Master Planned Communities are large scale, mixed use developments planned from development inception and situated on never before developed property. This case study chronicles the planning and development of The Cliffs communities in the Western Carolinas. This combination of retirement, recreational and rural living has been a market success to date. But one wonders whether this remote living will be sustainable in the long run. 
  
  
• Tysons Corner, Virginia: Planning for the Urban Retrofitting of a Suburban Edgecity by Shelley S. Mastran, PhD. This case study right here at home documents the development history of Tyson Corner, Virginia from its early days of the last century, but mostly it covers the politics and planning efforts to densify and make a city out of an Edge City, with the coming of four metro stops. This is a MUST READ for planners and developers.
  
  
• Book review: ReWealth by Susan Ruby. ReWealth (McGrawhill, 2008) written by Storm Cunningham, a redevelopment expert, and speaker at the 2nd Annual Colvin Symposium in 2009, is a bit quirky just as those who heard him speak will recall. Editor Ruby suggests that the case studies cover redevelopment stories across the country with analyses of why and how each succeeded or failed. Read the review before taking on the book, as Ruby claims there are more than a few unanswered questions. 
  

The School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at the University of Maryland is home to four academic disciplines: architecture, urban planning, historic preservation and real estate development. Committed to educating its students and community about the importance of sustainability and smart growth, the School practices an interdisciplinary approach to education, research, creative work, and community and professional service. For more information, please e-mail us or call 301.405.8000.

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