This report, from the organization Architecture 2030, seeks a way to rapidly meet the goal of 350 ppm of atmospheric CO₂ and finds it in a coal moratorium and efficiency codes.

This week, Architecture 2030 released an unprecedented guide for every city, county and state in the nation to swiftly meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets through existing building codes, asserting that meeting reduction targets through existing codes is the critical ‘missing piece’ to getting major reductions underway immediately.

Vancouver, B.C.'s EcoDensity policies have been the subject of much debate, but they've become a fixture of the city's political and planning landscape, even after the term of the mayor who promoted them.

The cities of Richmond and La Quinta, California are seeing the construction of solar-powered affordable rental communities. One is certified LEED gold; both add significantly to the amount of solar power installed and affordable housing available in each city.

This free book from the Environmental Law Institute describes and categorizes three different types of policy strategies for encouraging green building in U.S. cities and counties.

Three reports created by the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders seek to better explain alternative mechanisms that governments can use to finance and manage infrastructure, and offer examples of how these alternatives have been applied successfully by state and local governments.

Eight states have passed legislation meant to make it easier for homeowners to put electricity-generating solar or wind installations on their property. They've found that homeowners who run into opposition from local agencies or associations often just drop the project - and states committed to cutting their emissions don't want to see that happen.

As part of a suite of bills passed in honor of Earth Day, the Council of Montgomery County, Maryland, approved one that would require all new buildings to comply with EPA standards for energy efficiency.

The Playbook for Green Buildings and Neighborhoods: Strategic Local Climate Solutions, a web-based resource, provides strategies, tips, and tools that counties can use to take immediate action on climate change through: green building, green neighborhoods, and sustainable infrastructure. The Playbook is designed both for communities that are considering making the first steps toward these, as well as for those who want to take existing efforts to a new level.

At the Northwest Solar Expo, held last week in Portland (Ore.), the city's Bureau of Development Services announced a new permitting process for solar installations, which greatly simplifies what had been a fairly onerous process. The expo also saw much training in the booming field of solar installation.