These two speakers are both thought leaders and doers in our community. Whether you rent or own, this lecture would be worth your time.

 'Last Wednesday' Monthly Meetings
April 30, 2008 * 6:30--9:00 PM * Refreshments
Ecotrust Building, 721 NW Ninth Avenue, Billy Frank Conference Center
Free to Guild members * $5 donation suggested

Meet and visit with Eli Spevak, a pioneering developer of ecological housing, and Bill Cunningham, a planner who is opening the way for innovative housing within the City's regulatory framework.

Eli Spevak's company, Orange Splot LLC, is a housing development company and general contractor with a mission to pioneer new models of community-oriented, affordable, green housing developments in Portland.

Eli believes that one of the most important things we can do to minimize our ecological footprint is to live in less space, and to do so within a larger community in which it's easy and fun to share resources. His projects, like Sabin Green and Peninsula Park Commons, have sparked strong interest from Portlanders seeking a sustainable lifestyle.

Bill Cunningham led the City's recent courtyard housing design competition, which generated hundreds of entries and ideas from designers in response to this challenge:

* How can courtyard housing be designed to serve as an attractive option for families with children?
* How can courtyards serve as useable outdoor space while also providing environmental sustainability benefits, act as a setting for community interaction while also respecting privacy needs, or serve as a pedestrian-oriented space while also accommodating cars?

* How can courtyard housing avoid a purely inward focus and contribute to Portland's tradition of street-oriented urbanism?

Portland General Electric, Energy Trust of Oregon and Metro Multifamily Housing Association are hosting a free class called "Smart Investments in Energy Efficiency".  If you are a multifamily property owner who uses PGE for your electricity you can attend. I used to work as a subcontractor for the Energy Trust and can attest to the helpfulness of these classes. They are really informative and the Energy Trust cash incentives have never been higher.

Date: Wednesday, April 23

Time: 7:30 am - 12:00 pm 

Place: 121 SW Salmon, Portland

More info: 503-464-8020 

Darcy is a local consultant that provides great book reviews. I thought this one might be of interest to Green Renters.

Jerry Yudelson. The Green Building Revolution (Washington DC: Island Press, 2008).

If you want a quick update on the state of the green building industry and why it's growing 50% per year-what's driving it and also holding it back, which sectors are pursuing green building the most, and a primer on the ever expanding number of LEED-xx standards -this would be an excellent place to begin. The book includes a number of black and white photographs of projects. I only wish Yudelson had included more detailed descriptions of the most innovative features of the projects he highlights.

Darcy Hitchcock

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Well, we're getting close to launch. This project has been a year in the making and I'm ready to send it out into the world and see what comes back. Of course it's still rough around the edges, but I think there's enough functionality that users can see what we're trying to do.

Probably the biggest struggle for me so far has been seeding the site with content. After several misfires I finally found an approach that works: identify a green building, gather as much info as possible off the web, then call the property manager and ask permission to post their contact info. No one has said "no" yet, and it's quick and painless for everyone.

If only we had more time ... I've still got a list of more than 90 green commercial buildings in Portland alone, waiting to get some attention. Hopefully seeing the live site will be enough of an incentive to get property managers and owners to enter their data. Either that or we'll need an intern! Anyone interested?

Lev and Rob are making the final changes to the website now. We should be ready for a soft launch this weekend. The whole team is excited to get this first version out there so that we can point people at the site and get their feedback. The feeling is that we might be able to create a buzz around this. We have already talked to management firms of many of the big buildings and most are happy to complete our survey and be listed. I mentioned the project at BarCamp Portland yesterday and got some folks coming up to me asking if and how they might get involved. All good then. So lets get this launched!