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Just having a restless night, thinking, this is probably a bad thing, but happens nonetheless. For the past two and a half years I have been involved in the development and construction of large scale subdivisions here in Western NC. (I work for a regional bank and handled the loan set up and draw requests)
Upon many of these subdivisions were built "McMansions" , 3000+ square foot houses on small lots. From an architectural point of view these houses are hideous, a mish mash of clashing elements that have no unifying theme. They cost a fortune to heat and cool. Worst of all they were constructed on the cheap and are incredibly flimsy. In a few years they will begin to fall apart.
Now that we are the midst of the worst residential real estate market in history, with record foreclosures, high unemployment, falling home values and 10 months of unsold inventory on the market, I see a great opportunity for the environmental movement to not only restore a number of these subdivisions back to nature, but to preserve unspoiled land and also help to stabilize home values at the same time.
I believe that organizations such as the Sierra Club, The Audubon Society and the World Wildlife Federation should put together land conservancy trusts. These trusts could approach banks, to buy out the houses in the now abandoned subdivisions (There are many of these in Florida) demolish the houses, clean up the debris and restore the land, re-grading and planting native trees on the property. They could also purchase subdivisions that have not been developed and return them back to a natural state. In both cases the conservancy would hold the land and never allow development to occur. Alternatively in some places the hideous McMansions can be leveled and replaced with smaller, more affordable, environmentally correct houses, powered by sustainable energy sources (solar, wind etc) and built using eco friendly construction techniques.
I believe this would be a win-win situation for all. A win for the banks that need to unload the toxic assets, in order to free up capital more profitable lending, a win for the environment, because it would preserve nature, slow down sprawl and fight global warming (more trees trap carbon), and all without a dime of taxpayer dollars. Lastly a win for current homeowners as reducing the number of available houses would stabilize falling home values.
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