Bright Lights, Green City

If you're an eco-conscious urbanite, you won't do better than a condo in The Casey in Portland's downtown Pearl District. The Casey claims to be the greenest development in the United States, and hopes to be the first residential facility to receive LEED Platinum certification. According to Jeston Green, the development will be 50% more energy efficient than code.

When most of us think of green, we envision an abode surrounded by nature, a pleasant, bucolic scene where wildflowers dot the landscape, not parking meters. But in truth, urban centers may be the greenest solution to reducing our footprint on this earth. Already, the very density of cities is in their favor so far as land use efficiency goes, as is the energy efficiency of shared-wall dwellings, and even water useage. According to WorldChanging: "Communities packing 12 or more households per acre are more efficient than less-dense communities built with the latest Energy Star appliances and materials."

Find out more about the beauty of Compact Building Design on Smart Growth Online, or get inspired by reading the classic New Yorker article by David Owen on why NYC is the Greenest City in the US.