PB January 2003

It's hard not to wonder as the third year of the 21st century begins what the questions will be that dominate discussion in our industry in 2003.

Highlighting the pressure that environmentalists are putting on new development in many places around the country.

Residents and business owners in the Hiawatha and 46th Street Station area in southeast Minneapolis were up in arms.

There are sounds we hear that enable us to recognize where we are without having to see anything - a ticking clock, air blowing through vents, trees rustling.

A California lawyer has received a patent for his solution to the problem of tight, confined suburban neighborhoods: acre-sized circles that maximize the side and front-facing distances between homes.

Quality-oriented home building no longer begins and ends with builders.

Homeowners expect perfect homes. Trades deliver less-than-perfect quality.

Smart Code, due out this spring from Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. and Municipal Code Corp., will provide a basis from which smarter zoning codes can be adopted by local officials.

The most popular discussion today about home prices is one-dimensional and incomplete for it focuses only on demand.

During the 15 months representing the height of the current home building boom, 1.9 million U.S. housing units were added, mostly in the South and West.