Suburb Sprawls Sustainability

There's a curious development in a suburb of my hometown Chicago, about as benevolent as a subdivision can be, in one of the sprawlier areas in the Midwest.

Prairie Crossing is an eco subdivision right off a commuter train line, housing not just lower energy use than the Americanaverage homes, but also an eco-minded charter school, acres of prairie preserve, an organic CSA farm, a homey retail area and StarGrazer Cafe, a restaurant that focuses on local, organic, and "natural" food. Terra Firma, the real estate development and advisory firm leading Chicago in ecologically-responsible property planning, runs the retail center there.

Perhaps their next step will be to ban SUVs from their community? Require all residents to take a two-week Ellen Page style permaculture course? Those hopes may be far fetched, but so is the idea that a place as conscious as Prairie Crossing were to exist in the first place, even as we enter a world where their efforts will soon become the minimum standard for healthy retraction.