Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009 - (Page 32)

By Randy Tardy Industry Spotlight Photo courtesy of HJ Banks Civil Engineering Consultants and Responsible Leadership Civil engineering leadership has an important role to play as we enter 2009 under the hardship of an unsteady market and a call for green construction. Kudos to SLDI for its admirable leadership in promoting sustainability, which balances the needs of people, planet and profit, to land development professionals. Today, sustainable site design is an important prerequisite to achieve LEED® certification. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) assigns 14 out of 69 points for sustainable sites. My own company, Bentley Systems, Incorporated – which is made up of predominately engineers – embraces the cause of sustainable infrastructure in the architecture/engineering/construction software that we deliver to the industry, not only because it demonstrates responsible leadership but because it is the path to our future. In 2007 and 2008, we experienced a depressed building market followed by a train wreck in the financial institutions. Civil engineering consultants face daily uncertainty in the construction market as they hold out until an upturn. In this environment, followers will wait and hope for the best. Leaders will right size, improve their knowledge of green construction, diversify and balance their portfolio of services. Logical diversifications are: G Vertical design building projects G Local government services G Transportation design The green building movement is spreading across the country, largely fueled by high energy costs and outsized carbon footprints. Consultants and contractors who want to sustain and grow their businesses are wise to take note and embrace the change. Many cities now recognize the importance of the green movement as they attempt to revitalize and reforest their urban environments. Light-rail systems with commuter parking will become increasingly attractive alternatives to traffic congestion. For land-development, civil-engineering consultants it is no longer business as usual. Developers and community stakeholders will expect consultants to take responsible leadership in meeting the people, planet and profit challenge. Adoption of new techniques in land development is essential. For example, conventional subdivision layouts will be replaced with: G Unique, meandering streets G Efficient vehicular and pedestrian flow G Improved access to multimodal transportation services G Manageable lot sizes G Urban forest “greenscape” for increased open space G Less infrastructure hardscape and fewer hot spots G Easier to maintain utility locations Leading national and local consultants must embrace the move toward more sustainable design as they ready their businesses for future profitability. Education of their engineering staff on sustainable design is essential. I am confident that SLDI will continue to help educate land development professionals on responsible, cultural and technology decisions in order to enable them to be recognized as leaders in the sustainable movement. Now is the time for leading civil engineering consultants to position for the economic rebound by making the changes that will provide their clients and other stakeholders with a sustainable product and heightened level of service. SLDT 32 January 2009 Sustainable Land Development Today

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009

Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009 Contents Our Voice Your Voice The BottomLine SLDI in Focus Calendar Industry Rebound Will Require Balanced Approach What Happened to Fannie and Freddie? Added Value in Entitlements Industry Spotlights Technology Wastewater Innovation Classifieds Advertiser Index Editorial Board SLDT Resources Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009

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