Most residents of Tokyo are considered middle-class. Forgetting for the moment the rest of Asia, what would happen if they were able to expand from their small apartments to American-style single-family homes?

To go from 1,000 square feet (93 square meters) to 2,000 square feet would mean to double the materials for construction, double the energy to heat or cool and double the amount of things – furnishings, appliances and electronics – to fill the space. To move further out into the countryside and find space for expansion would destroy agricultural land and in turn create the need for new infrastructure – roads, power lines, telecommunications – that would have to extend to feed this parasitic habitat.

Spacing ourselves out and filling in the space with things in the American manner is terribly costly to society and to the environment. For society, it tells us that happiness coincides with super-affluence, with the act of consumption rather than the art of living.”

- Paolo Soleri, the Italian architect and urban theorist quoted in new Perspectives Quarterly (Los Angeles).

I clipped this from the newspaper about 10 years ago. I keep it on a bulletin board in my office and read it every few months. While I’d rather concentrate on how amazing urban living is and it’s benefits rather than ragging on suburbia, he makes some good points. I do feel like many of us are all finally starting to catch on her in the US and I’m excited about what this is going to mean for cities – and my City in particular.

My favorite features were the shiny orange epoxy garage floors and the completely real looking artificial grass in the “backyards.” That and the fact the solar panels are cleverly integrated into the curved roof design to catch more of that south sun.

These 3 and 4 bedroom homes are all designed on two levels and are well located on Guerrero between 21st and 22nd (where the Palm Broker used to be). Just the right place for a low-carbon footprint pedestrian lifestyle. Bargain priced at between 1.1MM and 1.6MM, but they seem to be going fast. the two top corner townhomes are already sold.

Please let me know if you want to take a look!

…But it has taken a long time! Remember back in 2008 when I posted that Stefan and I had signed up for a solar lease program with Solar City? Well, I know I barely can think that far back, but the installers showed up bright and early Monday morning and the panels are going in today! They installed a power converter box in the garage, reinforcements to our attic framing and then commenced installing the grid on the roof. We will save a tiny bit of money each month over the cost of the lease, but the real incentive to participate is simply that we will be doing something to reduce carbon emissions using a part of our house we never even see – the roof!

The experience with Solar City has been slow, but not painful. They have taken care of the plans and the permits. Also, during the waiting period, the size of our system has increased from a 2.0 kilowatt system to a 2.7 kilowatt system for the same price, so we and the environment have benefitted from the delay.

The next steps are the city inspection, PGE inspection and turning the system on!

For more information on installing solar panels on your house, I recommend contact Jeanine at Luminalt at (415) 564-7652 (Luminalt is a local company located in the Sunset District using solar panels manufactured by the employer of Client In The Know Tanya Baker!); or Jesse Brennan at Solar City 650.963.5140. It can’t hurt to check it out!