Tag: environmental

  • Helping out Salmon in Fremont, Seattle, WA

    Helping out Salmon in Fremont, Seattle, WA

    Why would developers voluntarily clean up icky runoff from the Aurora Bridge? In Fremont, a block uphill from Seattle’s ship canal, construction is wrapping up on a glassy office building. An unassuming, newly landscaped terrace flanks the building. The Aurora Bridge soars above the terrace, carrying cars over the canal. Along the canal, boats dot…

  • The Hierarchy of Nobel-Prize-worthiness

    The Hierarchy of Nobel-Prize-worthiness

    Why is it so hard to find developer success stories in combating gentrification? In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith explored the cultural milieu that produces our sense of right and wrong. In this work, which laid the groundwork for The Wealth of Nations, Smith notes that it’s human nature to seek praise and praise-worthiness. This basic tendency, he supposes, forms…

  • Tim McDonald, Onion Flats—Philadelphia, PA

    Tim McDonald, Onion Flats—Philadelphia, PA

    Can a single design- and environmentally-conscious developer influence others? Tim McDonald runs Onion Flats with his three partners. Trained as an architect, Tim co-founded the Philadelphia-based alongside his brother. “As a developer,” he says, “every project I’ve ever done has been an opportunity to explore something. I’m a design-driven developer, and I come at it from…