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Expert: Foreclosures forcing commuters from San Joaquin Valley back to Bay Area
J.N. Sbranti, Modesto Bee
Could real estate woes persuade residents to abandon the Northern San Joaquin Valley?

Bay Area transplants -- nicknamed BATs -- swooped into the valley en masse during the 2000-to-2005 building boom. They came in search of less expensive housing and filled new-home neighborhoods throughout Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties.

But the region has become the foreclosure capital of the United States as lenders have repossessed 17,000 homes during the past year. Many of those houses now sit empty.

Where did their residents go?

At least one industry analyst suspects the valley's foreclosed families are headed back to the Bay Area, especially those who had been commuters.

"We believe that there is going to be a tremendous shift back to urban areas, led by those who bought homes in the outlying areas who lose their homes to foreclosure. They will choose to rent near work to save money," wrote John Burns, a national real estate consultant in his July building market analysis.

"The high price of gas is playing a very important part in home buyer decisions. The phrase 'drive until you qualify' has less meaning these days as each mile becomes more expensive," Burns said.
(1 August 2008)

Little house on a small planet (video and audio)
Peak Moment via Global Public Media
Builder and author Shay Salomon finds that the happiest home builders are often the ones with the smallest houses. They're less costly to build and maintain, more likely to be finished, use fewer resources and help people simplify their lives. One version of "smaller" is to share a house, which can ease our loneliness while building our social network. Co-founder of the Small House Society, Shay notes that scaling down can enable a ratcheting up of our whole lifestyle, as we revalue quality over quantity. Declaring "Enough", she says, is the most ecological thing one can do. (www.littlehouseonasmallplanet.com).

(5 February 2007, but just posted)

SF Mayor signs tough green-building bill
Ucilia Wang, greentechmedia
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a law that analysts consider to be the nation’s toughest green-building standards.

The standards set out to improve energy efficiency in new and existing buildings to help achieve the city’s goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Greentech Media in July wrote that Newsom had expected to sign the standards in the first week of August (see San Francisco to Boost Small Wind).

The new ordinance modifies the city’s building code, requiring applicants for residential and commercial building permits to follow a city-approved checklist and rating system, such as one created by the nonprofit Build It Green or the ratings system created by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (also known as LEED). Companies would also be required to obtain certification from the U.S. Green Building Council...
(4 August 2008)