Adaptive Reuse
Adaptive Reuse is a process that adapts old buildings for new uses while retaining their historic features.

Like the theme of the National Main Streets Conference from May 8-11, 2005 , "Cool Cities: Old Buildings. New Attitudes," adaptive reuse demonstrates that old buildings consistently make great places for new ideas, leading to the revitalization of communities of all types and sizes.

"Old ideas can use new buildings, but new ideas need old buildings." -Jane Jacobs

Examples of Adaptive Reuse projects:

Cool Space Locator's office - for more information regarding this project click here.
 

The Armstrong Cork Building for more information about this project click here, or go to http://wahila.com/cork/ to see photos of the redevelopment project.
 

Learn more about adaptive reuse projects around the country:

Big Box Reuse

The Mill at Lebanon, Tennessee

Cool Space
Cool Space is the urban workplace.

Cool Spaces exist in walkable communities and are designed to house businesses or other enterprises that employ people. Cool space is an older building that's been adapted to a new use or a new building that fills a gap in an existing neighborhood. Cool spaces encourage creative-thinking, open interaction, increased productivity, and a sense of community, while allowing occupants to express their unique identity through their space. While "cool" is a subjective term, following are some characteristics that may describe a cool space:

• it may be located in a current or formerly underutilized building in a neighborhood;
• it may be located above a retail storefront or on a main street;
• it may exist in a commercial building, former industrial building, or large former warehouse;
• it may make use of a building's character;
• it may have lots of natural light;
• it may have open floor plans;
• it may share a block with residents and other business owners.

However, having a business locate (or stay) in an urban area helps meet Cool Space Locator's mission of "no more empty buildings", which is why CSL will help most businesses that are ready to relocate to an urban area, regardless of whether they are looking for a 'cool space' or just a place to do business.

Smart Growth
Smart growth focuses on making land use planning and decisions in consideration of regional efficiency, environmental protection, and fiscal responsibility. It is development that serves the economy, the community, and the environment by providing a framework for communities to make informed decisions about how and where they want to grow. It is in sharp contrast to much of the suburban development we see today, where single-use low-density housing districts are the norm and where there is little reason to seek alternative transportation other than getting into a car to travel anywhere.

Smart growth makes it possible for communities to grow in ways that support economic development and jobs; create strong neighborhoods with a range of housing, commercial, and transportation options; and achieve healthy communities that provide families with a clean environment.

The following smart growth principles illustrate the characteristics associated with healthy, vibrant, and diverse communities that offer their residents choices of how and where to live".

1. Mix land uses
2. Take advantage of compact building design
3. Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
4. Create walkable communities
5. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
7. Strengthen and direct development toward existing communities
8. Provide a variety of transportation choices
9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost-effective
10. Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

See the difference between sprawl and smart growth with the Sierra Club's community transformation examples.

Learn more about Smart Growth at smartgrowth.org.

Sprawl
Sprawl is the expansion of people and development further and further from the urban core. Suburbs have continued to expand as people move further away from the central city for a number of reasons, including the opportunity to own more land, avoid high-traffic roads, and live in less dense areas. Unfortunately, this is a positive feedback cycle in that people continue to move to the fringe, and more and more land is developed into roads, shopping centers, and large plans of single-family homes that force people to drive almost everywhere. Sprawl leaves behind underutilized vacant space in the urban core.

Learn more about sprawl at Sprawl City or Sustainable Pittsburgh.

See the difference between sprawl and smart growth with the Sierra Club's community transformation examples.