Let me first say that I dislike shopping more than the next person. However, I do like finding unique and Austin-made Christmas gifts for my family. This way I can enjoy the shopping experience, meet and support local artists, and be certain that Aunt Mabel won’t buy my sister the same picture frame or sweater.

If you’d like to do the same there are two great opportunities this weekend:

The Sustainable Shopper’s Ball is Saturday, Dec. 1st, 9a – 2p at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market at the Toney Burger Center (3200 Jones Road – South Austin). As the name suggests, this is a gathering of 60+ local ‘green’ educators and vendors in addition to speakers and live music. See the full event schedule and vendor list here.

Another great option this weekend is the Wheatsville Arts Festival. It’s this Saturday and Sunday at the Wheatsville Coop and also has live music in addition to all of the artists and their wares. I highly recommend the hot chocolate if the weather stays chilly.

One final note – week after next there is also Keep Austin Bizarre.

What are your holiday shopping secrets?

Here’s a link and an excerpt from a Statesman story last week:

Georgetown to get first green subdivision

By M.B. Taboada
AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, November 15, 2007

Georgetown is getting its first all-green subdivision. Green Builders Inc. is creating an 800-acre master-planned community with 2,000 houses that will be environmentally friendly and feature rain harvesting and energy-saving heating and cooling systems.

First the facts

This new subdivision will contain 2000 energy efficient homes on 800 acres. The homes will be from 1800 to 2400 sqft and priced from the low $200’s to the $500’s. The neighborhood is being developed by Clark Wilson’s Green Builders Inc. The listed ‘green’ features are as follows:

• Homes oriented to minimize solar heat gain
• Foam insulation in walls and roof
• Recycled Lumber and local stone
• Compact fluorescent lighting
• Rainwater collection barrel
• Energy efficient appliances
• etc.

The Statesman article has further details and information about other upcoming ‘green’ developments. For further details here is the website for Georgetown Village.

See an approximate map of Georgetown Village below to get an idea of the location and size. Zoom out to see where it lies relative to Austin:

Now for some opinion

First lets talk in absolutes – I’m kind of stuck on the term ‘green subdivision’. The term ’subdivision’ means subdividing large tracts of land for new development, in this case for homes. Large tracts of land are (generally) only available on the outskirts of cities like Austin (RMMA being a notable exception). This effectively spreads out the population, sprawling our city across the land.

Sprawl is not considered ‘green’. It consumes undeveloped land, further extends and burdens utility and water service, and results in a greater population who require a longer commute to work/school/shopping etc. Therefore, how can there be a ‘green subdivision’? Isn’t this like ‘civil war’ or ‘jumbo shrimp’? Well, not exactly.

Relative to other subdivisions, Georgetown Village seems to be doing all of the right things. Their product appears to be far more efficient than that of the average new neighborhood. It is impressive that they have been able to do this while keeping costs fairly low, probably enabled based on their executive team’s experience with other volume builders (Lennar, Capital Pacific, Centex). Relatively speaking, this ‘green subdivision’ is far more efficient than your average builder neighborhood.

As a side note: This volume could drive down the cost of some of these ‘green’ features for all of us, encouraging further adoption. Definitely a plus.

Also, there may be enough local interest to fill the neighborhood with people who work in Georgetown. Based on the map it appears to be convenient to both the town center and the lake. I’m not very familiar with the Georgetown market, but I’d imagine this is an attractive location.

In any case, while it may not be absolutely ‘green’, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. At that price point I would recommend anyone planning to live and work in the Georgetown area to take a look. It’s probably the best ‘green’ bang for your greenback.

For further opinion, check out the Austinist’s coverage: Georgetown Goes Green With New Subdivision

Now let’s hear your opinion!

Is this the best path to affordable green housing? Or do the negatives of sprawl outweigh the positives of green?

Another busy few weeks yields a long list of links, with something for everyone: Green building news, Austin projects, and even some celebrity gossip!

Austin News

• Keep up with the City of Austin’s Waller Creek Tunnel Project via this link. The rendering looks promising, almost sea-world like? Certainly a nice boost for property owners who will no longer be in the floodplain.
• We’ve all heard about the coming Austin Commuter Rail. Flickr user Cdozo snapped some photos of one of the new rail cars on the tracks: Flickrset: Capital MetroRail Car
• The Statesman has an interesting article describing the challenges facing the new residents of the Mueller neighborhood. Namely, how to govern a large mixed-use subdivision – Statesman: Mueller redevelopment exploring new frontiers in self-governance
• Some good news for those of us who enjoy Austin Farmer’s Markets (Vegetable Co-op Anyone?) Austinist: Austin Farmer’s Market Makes Greenlight Magazine’s Top 10 List.
• And for builders, makers, tinkerers, inventors, hackers, etc. out there – Great news! We’re Getting a TechShop! I can’t wait!

Green Building

• Here are some great photos and details on the First LEED Platinum Carbon Neutral Building. It’s located in Wisconsin, what is it about Wisconsin and innovative architecture? Inhabitat: First LEED Platinum Carbon Neutral Building.
• For more examples of Green Buildings, check out this Google Earth data layer – Google Earth Blog: DOE Energy Efficient Buildings in 3D Google Earth
• Following Austin’s Lead on Zero Energy Homes, California passes a home-efficiency mandate – Inhabitat: Zero Energy Homes in California by 2020
• And even Los Angeles is getting into the act – Archinect: The Greening of Lotus Land
• Can a Garage with 100’s of cars be ‘green’? Apparently so – LA Times: Jay Leno’s Green Garage

Other News & Links

• Here’s the promised celebrity gossip, blech. Brad & Angelina are buying an island in Dubai to raise awareness about environmental issues. You figure it out – Brangelina Island
• The Statesman covered an interesting alternative to historic districts for preserving old homes – Statesman: East Coast states try new way to save old homes
• Finally, a nice photoset on Flickr: Mid Century Prop Collection

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Check out this new listing in Rosedale from Metrohouse: 4011 Lewis Lane – Full Listing

I really like the use of the limestone and wood on the interior and exterior walls. The landscaping is perfectly integrated with the design as well. This nicely merges the exterior and interior spaces. The home is now listed at $740,000.
More photos after the break.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of year again:

Be sure not to miss the East Austin Studio Tour 2007 this weekend (11/17-18, 10am – 5pm). Here is a quick description from their site:

Welcome to the 6th annual East Austin Studio Tour. This year we celebrate the work of more than 200 artists at over 100 studios—artists of extraordinary range with the common thread of choosing to work within the few square miles of central east Austin that has recently emerged as one of the highest concentration of artists in Central Texas.

An important note: as the graphic suggests this year’s theme is bicycles. The studios are close enough together that biking the tour should be doable. Here’s a map: East Austin Studio Tour 2007 Map.

Apparently the Yellow Bike Project is also launching 100 bikes for the tour:

We are working to release 100 Yellow Bikes on the streets as part of an effort by the E.A.S.T. organizers to make this years tour a bike rich event. E.A.S.T. is a perfect bike event since there are hundreds of locations to see within a few miles. If you need a ride during the event come pick one up!

Pretty neat! See you on the East Side!