Sustainable Site Planning Archives | Green Built Alliance

Rob Motley: Slope Hope: Building A Green Home on a Unique Site

Slope Hope: Building A Green Home on a Unique Site Rob Motley When I first met Kate Zubko and Jeff Konz at their property on Elk Mountain Scenic Highway two summers ago for an initial site visit, I left the meeting with two distinct impressions: that Kate and Jeff...

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Amy Smith: Asheville’s Urban Forest: Solutions for a Sustainable City

Asheville’s Urban Forest: Solutions for a Sustainable City By Amy Smith Asheville is treasured by residents and visitors alike for the natural beauty surrounding the city. Our region is covered with forests, teeming with wildlife, and saturated with mountain views. Like all growing cities, Asheville faces the issue of...

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RJ Taylor: Protecting Our Places: Economic and Environmental Benefits of Conservation Subdivisions

Protecting Our Places: Economic and Environmental Benefits of Conservation Subdivisions By RJ Taylor Western North Carolina is feeling a growth spurt. Many people around the country have become aware of our secret, that Asheville and the surrounding communities are a wonderful place to live and play. The downside result...

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Maggie Leslie: Leaner and Greener: Green Built Homes Rolls Out Updated Checklist, New Certifications

Leaner and Greener: Green Built Homes Rolls Out Updated Checklist, New Certifications By Maggie Leslie As codes have changed and technologies have advanced in the 16 years since the program’s inception in 2004, Green Built Homes has continually evolved to encourage positive changes in the building industry and highlight...

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Planting for Future Generations: A Journey Toward Bioregional Food Resilience

Planting for Future Generations: A Journey Toward Bioregional Food Resilience Danu Macon For millennia, the land we know as Western North Carolina has nourished and provided a home for thousands of species of animals, plants and fungi. The web of life here in these mountains contains a grand diversity...

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Is Wastewater Really a Waste? Ecological Solutions for Treating Wastewater

Is Wastewater Really a Waste? Ecological Solutions for Treating Wastewater Laura Ruby Water is one of our most precious resources. It makes up more than half of the human body, 77 percent of our brains, and covers nearly 70 percent of our earth. Yet, less than 1 percent of...

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Midwifing Sustainability: Building and Selling Permaculture Incubators

Midwifing Sustainability: Building and Selling Permaculture Incubators Dan Clere How can a home be regenerative? What is it regenerating? And for whom? These questions are great fodder for coffee conversation, and as green builders, we often take the basics for granted. We want our homes to be durable and...

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Amplifying Agrihoods: The Benefits of Neighborhoods Built Around Working Farms

Amplifying Agrihoods: The Benefits of Neighborhoods Built Around Working Farms Allison Smith Sometimes new problems call for old solutions. That’s the best lesson to be taken from the recent rise of housing developments built around working farms, also known as agrihoods. Created to foster a sense of community and...

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Bridging Sustainable and Social Gaps: Earth Care, Fair Share and People Care at Echo Hills Cottages

Bridging Sustainable and Social Gaps: Earth Care, Fair Share and People Care at Echo Hills Cottages Garret K. Woodward When Ron Czecholinski and his wife moved to Asheville in 2010, he had one goal in mind: to create a sustainable development that truly focused on the meaning of the...

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Darren Henegar: Enough Water for Everyone

Enough Water for Everyone: A Water Supply Case Study in Swannanoa Darren Henegar Here in the U.S., we have long been fortunate to have access to some of the safest drinking water in the world available just by turning on the tap. However, continued population growth and economic development...

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