New Mexico Gets the New Economy

Here in this sparsely populated state wedged between California and Arizona, the talk at this week’s affordable housing summit is civil and upbeat.

The City of Albuquerque has partnered with the Jonathan Rose Companies, a green-savvy developer, to enliven a chunk of downtown with mixed-income landscaped homes. Homer Robinson, the exec managing the project (called Silver Gardens), said he’s been surprised by the pace and pitch of demand for high density in a state where what one panelist called “lollipops and curlicues” sometimes dominate planning.

And on Tuesday, a greenhouse-gas cap leapt closer to reality, with backers calling it an elixir for new jobs.

We’ll see how concertedly the new Congress chokes off urban growth and subsidizes the fading romance of the 18-mph family car. For now, know that if you look past the red and blue and green caricatures you can find a critical mass of Americans willing to base an economic surge on the quest for a more efficient way to live.

Tags: Albuquerque, Arizona, California, Congress, family car, green-savvy developer, greenhouse-gas cap, Homer Robinson, Jonathan Rose Companies

Alec Appelbaum writes about real estate, true-green business and architecture for the New York Times, Fast Company, New York magazine and others. He has also contributed to Architectural Record, the A ...read more