Dallas to build first sustainable square block in the United States

 

It is not surprising that Texas leads the nation in wind power generation, for on their way of fixing energy security Texans indeed have their eye on the future. And that does not only concern renewable energy. Looking to transform downtown Dallas into a community where people can both work and live, the City of Dallas now has decided to build what will be the first sustainable inner-city square block in the United States.

“Sustainability thinks strategically about how you use space and how you use structures and that goes beyond the green”, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert said exemplifying with the Trinity River project. “A lot of times we’ll think of it as being enormous benefits for recreation, transportation, or flood control, those elements. But the biggest part is the idea that a space in our city that has been historically a divide could all of a sudden bring people together”

The new city square block will stretch across the street from City Hall transforming an underused parking lot to a sustainable city block as well as a public green space.

The international design competition is hosted by San Francisco based Urban Re:Vision and will start in January 2009. The winning design will be announced on May 27, 2009.