Kaid Benfield, NRDC

Kaid Benfield is director of Sustainable Communities & Smart Growth at the NRDC in Washington, D.C.

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How to turn shuttered suburban stores into sustainability showcases
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, March 23, 2012
With all the talk about sustainable cities, it's important to remember that the concept can apply to suburbs as well as metro centers. Kaid Benfield explores a vision of green suburbia from......
What Apple could learn from Amazon
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, March 22, 2012
While Apple's planned headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., choked off streets and reduced walkability, Amazon's new headquarters keep streets connected and uses public transportation.
The greening of Guinness
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, March 17, 2012
Guinness Stout, a favorite for St. Patrick's Day, may look black, but it's also green. The company, which received recognition for its environmental commitment last year, now has...
What's wrong with Apple's new headquarters
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, March 13, 2012
The plans for Apple's new headquarters will choke off street connections and potential walking routes in Cupetino, making bicycling and walking more difficult -- and likely encouraging people...
Helping towns and cities get greener from the grassroots up
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, March 08, 2012
From the smallest municipalities to booming cityscapes, locally focused policymakers are helping to usher in an era of green neighborhoods and green expansion....
A Closer Look at the Green City Index
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, July 07, 2011
Why did some cities nail top ratings in Siemens' new Green City Index for North America, while others tanked and still others weren't counted at all? NRDC's Kaid Benfield takes a deep......
How to Tell If Development is Smart and Green
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, June 02, 2011
The U.S. Green Building Council officially launched its LEED-ND standard for sustainable neighborhood development last year. And as a new guide from the NRDC shows, the principles of LEED-ND can......
The EPA's Odd Choice for a New Regional HQ
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, April 20, 2011
What was the EPA thinking when it decided to relocate its regional headquarters from a transit-rich location in downtown Kansas to a suburban site that could almost triple the carbon emissions......
The Greening of Professional Sports
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, November 19, 2010
From coast to coast, and in every professional sport, teams and their owners are making significant progress on reducing their environmental impacts, from solar-powered scoreboards to stadiums......
City Shaped Like a Rhino Planned in Southern Sudan
By Kaid Benfield, NRDC, September 27, 2010
While U.S. planners and local governments are striving to create sustainable communities and neighborhoods, Southern Sudan's government is taking a cue from nature to remake 10 state capitals: The......