The single most exciting thing my fellow urbanists should look for in 2007 is LEED-ND. LEED for Neighborhood Development could turn the green building movement on its head. The core argument of LEED-ND is that all the environmentally-friendly buildings in the world are only partially effective without considering land use patterns. Therefore, LEED-ND ranks entire neighborhoods based on their level of sustainability, including density, transit accessibility and environmental preservation. LEED-ND is going to be a gut check for urbanists. Will we be able to stomach seven units to the acre? Only half of Americans drive, so will we plan for all neighborhoods to have transit access and actually reduce vehicle miles traveled? Will we place a higher value on truly walkable neighborhoods? Will we treat storm water on-site and reduce runoff? If we really believe in the color green, we will support all of the above. In the words of Doug Farr, chair of the LEED-ND core committee, LEED-ND is about doing "enough of the right things." It isn't really a question of "can we," but rather "will we" do enough of the right things. The program goes to pilot in 2007. Find out more at www.usgbc.org/leed/nd.

I'm going to discuss architecture. Two separate occasions this past year confirmed to me something that has been on my mind for some time: the balance between "starchitecture" and a quality public realm.   Peter Calthorpe received the prestigious J.C. Nichols Award at the ULI conference in October. In the course of his acceptance speech and a presentation given earlier in the day, he provided a number of insights about the industry. Most striking was his comment about state of present day architecture. He explained that he was bothered that buildings are either neotraditional in design or "hyper-modern schizsophrenic," as he put it. Calthorpe explained that we need architecture that is "calm enough to enhance public spaces." He called them "basic background buildings." An phone call from an architect colleague of mine early one recent morning suggested to me that many of us may be thinking the same thing. Sure there is a role for monumental design, as we have witnessed with recent new museums and theaters in many of our cities. And sure, new urbanists sometimes get it wrong by designing buildings that are a little too "Disney-fied" or just simply out of context. With all that said, we agreed that there are some very good recent examples of basic background buildings that are beautiful but not overbearing. I think this discussion has merit. Look for calmer architecture as the public realm is held in higher regard. I welcome any commentary on this.

What is your favorite bookstore? I realize in my travels that I tend to happen upon wonderful independent bookstores. I don't necessarily seek them out, but I do seek out great neighborhoods, and it just so happens that the two often go hand in hand. I recently discovered The King's English in Salt Lake City. I was actually looking for breakfast and discovered a great little retail street (high on the quaint-o-meter) in a leafy part of the city with a gift shop, a little French restaurant, the ubiquitous Starbuck's, and a lovely little bookstore. I ventured in and wandered among tightly spaced bookshelves in little rooms of varying sizes and ceiling heights - exactly the kind of bookstore you could get lost and spend hours in.  One book caught my eye and I bought it thinking better to support the independent bookstore than a chain. Good instinct. The book is Big-Box Swindle by Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. This was a bit serendipitous because the book looks at the true cost of big box development on our economy, our independent businesses, our built environment and, well, on us. I'm not yet finished reading it, but there is a chapter that briefly looks at several market segments, including bookstores, that suffer from corporate competition. It even mentions The King's English in Salt Lake City as it compares independent bookstores to chains and even Wal-Mart, gravely noting the loss of independent bookstores (there were half as many in 2002 than in 1990) as the chains gain market share (Barnes & Noble and Borders now sell half of all books sold in U.S. bookstores). You may not agree with the point of view of the Big-Box Swindle, but you can't deny the numbers. So tell me, what is your favorite bookstore and why? I know those of you reading this are from around the country and likely travel a lot, so also let me know in what city your favorite bookstore is located and (for my sake) what type of urban environment as well. Feel free to email me your response and I will let all of you know the results and any interesting stories. In the meantime, I have a book to finish.