The Street of Greens

A Model of Sustainable Development

by Rob Harrison
This essay was originally published in the Spring 1994 issue of EcoBuilding Times magazine.

. . .

Since the first issue of the EcoBuilding Times came out, many people have inquired about the Street of Greens. We have already mentioned, in the sidebar of Kathryn True's article on Norma Davidson's "urban cabin", the idea of the "virtual tour" video of the best examples of sustainable design in the Puget Sound region. (We're still looking for a Guild volunteer to videotape houses.) There is, however, another idea behind the name . . . .

I wish I had a nickel for every time I've heard these comments, when I mention my practice is based on sustainable design:

"I used to live next to a solar house from the seventies. It stuck out like a sore thumb."

"That stuff's not for me. I could never live underground."

"Oh, you mean like that guy who builds houses out of old car tires and used beer cans?"

"I don't know, my furniture wouldn't really fit in a geodesic dome."

People, if they are like me (and I think I am like most people) will move more quickly and happily towards a way of life they dream of than one they imagine their neighbors will think is weird, or one it appears they are being forced into by Very Large Circumstances Beyond Their Control. We need a way to show that a sustainable way of life is something we all can aspire to - in the same way we have been taught to aspire to live like the Carringtons and Colbys on "Dynasty." (The television show, as well as the lifestyle it depicted, are now being marketed abroad. "Dynasty" is the most popular television show in China.)

In the summer of 1992, I filled in for a real estate photographer friend of mine who had gone on vacation. It sounded like a great thing to do for a couple weeks. I saw it as a chance to explore the region surrounding Seattle. I got more than I bargained for. I had 150 houses to photograph in a week. My territory covered close to 3,000 square miles of King and Pierce Counties, and the houses were dotted over that whole area.

From Redmond to Black Diamond I drove past mini-malls full of the same fast food and retail franchises found all across the United States. I got lost in endless cul-de-sacs in the hills above Bellevue. I saw wonderful small towns in rural areas - places like Enumclaw, Duvall, Snoqualmie, North Bend - on the verge of becoming bedroom suburbs. On the Eastside, along the I-90 corridor, and in the Kent Valley I saw irreplaceable agricultural land being gobbled up by sprawling development. When I had the chance, I walked through developer's model homes. (Several included over-sized ceremonial stairways designed, as far as I could tell, only for Crystal to descend, wearing a sequined full-length gown.)

I had been focusing on helping to establish an urban ecological demonstration home within the Seattle city limits. I started to think it was equally important to make the idea of sustainability accessible to people in Kent, in Enumclaw, and in the developments like Klahanie on the plateau east of Lake Sammamish.

The name "Street of Greens" was coined at a potluck dinner in 1992. Steve Loken, Jeff Learned, Chris Stafford, Preston Horne-Brine, Kathryn True, Patty Borman, Norma Davidson and myself had gathered to discuss the Earthwise Seattle Home Project. We hoped the Street of Greens would be the next step after a single demonstration home and garden - a model development of ecologically responsible dwellings designed and built by different teams of designers and builders. The Street of Greens would be, in other words, a Street of Dreams for sustainable design. From the planning of the development as a whole through to the furnishings and accessories in the homes, the Street of Greens would consistently embody the ideals of a humane sustainable culture.

It could be a small development, on acreage equivalent to seven or eight standard size lots. Agricultural land, wildlife habitat, watersheds and ground water would be preserved. Pedestrian, bicycle and public transit would be encouraged. The development would be able to support what author Wendell Berry calls a "domestic economy", in which the homes would be instruments of production rather than mere consumption. It would include a mixture of housing and work options which could support and be affordable to a diverse community of young and old. For example, the development might include several small starter cottages, a semi-detached four-plex condominium with a place for childcare, two or three single family homes designed to accommodate home offices or workshops, a shared house, an apartment above a corner store, and provisions for urban agriculture.

It would showcase the work of local ecological designers, builders and manufacturers. The dwellings themselves would be healthy, and frugal in their use of energy and natural resources. The "home tour" would be timed to allow the edible landscaping to mature and bear fruit and vegetables. Inside, visitors would find furniture made with sustainable yield hardwoods, non-toxic cleaners under the counter, organic foods in the energy efficient refrigerator, organic cotton towels in the bath, and bicycles (and perhaps a GM "Ultralight" automobile) in the garage.

Every major city in Canada and almost every major city in the United States has at least one ecological demonstration home. (Except Seattle, although the HomeSight/City of Seattle Model Conservation Home is in the planning stages, with a completion date set for the summer of 1994.) Just in our region, Portland, Oregon has the Here Today House; Lacey, Washington has the upcoming Homes Again; Vancouver B.C. has both the Advanced House and Healthy House; and the Puyallup Fair had the GreenHome. Nowhere in the Puget Sound region, however, have the larger issues of land use planning and settlement ecology also been comprehensively addressed.

Scattered throughout the region, many Guild members are building homes which appear fairly conventional from the outside. They are just more pleasant and comfortable to be in, healthier for the builders and the occupants, less expensive to operate and maintain, and in the most successful examples, supportive of community life and more affordable for a wider range of buyers. Imagine a group of houses like this, in a community setting, in a lush (and edible) landscape.

Response to the idea has been enthusiastic and supportive. Denis Hayes of the Bullitt Foundation, Alan Durning, formerly of Worldwatch and now with Seattle's Northwest Environment Watch, and Robert Gilman of the Context Institute were interested in the idea of the Street of Greens. A year ago Jeff Learned and I spoke about the Street of Greens with Milenko Matanovic and Robert Ness of the Pomegranate Center for Community Inovation in Issaquah, and they are now beginning work on a similar project they call the Street of Realities. [A few of their ideas were incorporated in the Grand Ridge development on the Issaquah plateau.-RH] Perhaps we can all pool our energy and resources.

The Guild has the designers, builders, manufacturers and suppliers it would take to make the Street of Greens an excellent demonstration project. All that is missing is a developer ready with a parcel of land, or an investor willing to finance the project. Let's make this happen!