Dan Sundermeier, REALTOR®

The Harvard Business Review has a piece this month on research by Lawrence Frank, Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Transportation at the University of British Columbia, on the effects of cul-de-sacs in neighborhoods in King County, Washington. He found that residents in areas with the most interconnected streets travel 26% fewer miles by automobile than those in areas with many cul-de-sacs. Meanwhile, recent studies by Frank and others show that the higher a neighborhood’s overall walkability, the greater the amount of walking and biking— which means a drop in per capita air pollution, fuel use, and body mass index.
The theory behind cul-de-sacs was that they lessened traffic, since they change the primary function of local streets — rather than offering a way to get anywhere, now they simply provide access to private residences. The problem is that this design inherently encourages car use, even for the shortest trips. It also limits the growth of communities and transportation options. Consider the above maps of one-kilometer walks in two different Seattle suburbs — the first, in Woodinville, is all cul-de-sacs that result in a disconnected jumble of streets with no walking or bike paths, while the second, in Ballard, offers an interconnected network of streets that provide easy access to shopping, parks, and other destinations. The argument that cul-de-sacs increase safety because they limit traffic is also misguided — the more empty and desolate a suburban (and often affluent) street is, the more likely crime is to occur. Also, it’s much harder for emergency vehicles to reach these homes if they’re sequestered in the belly of a web of disconnected dead-ends.
As more and more direct evidence piles up that these dead-end developments are doing no one any good, the cul-de-sac tides are beginning to change: Last year, the Virginia legislature passed a law limiting cul-de-sacs in future developments. And if other states see the benefits for VA –  more efficient streets that are cheaper to maintain, as well as other savings from not having to widen arterial roads that otherwise were overburdened by cul-de-sacs — perhaps they’ll follow suit.
Image: Urban Design 4 Health

MSN put together houses across the country for around $300,000 to show the differences in markets.  One house for sale was picked from Omaha.  You can find it here.

An Important Human Right:

The European Union has declared that tourism is a human right and all Europeans are entitled to subsidized travel.  The subsidized tours will be open to pensioners, citizens over 65 or between the ages of 18 and 25, and families facing “difficult social, financial or personal” circumstances. “Travelling for tourism today is a right. The way we spend our holidays is a formidable indicator of our quality of life,” said Antonio Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry.  The tours are also intended to promote European pride, bridge the “north-south divide,” and support the tourism industry in the off-season. (HT: Greg Mankiw)

Mayor Jim Suttle of Omaha and Mayor Tom Hanafan of Council Bluffs have partnered to respond to a Request for Information (RFI) from Google to bring ultra high-speed internet to the Metro area. The cities are also joined in their response by the City of Carter Lake, to present Google with a regional opportunity to deploy their Fiber project.  According to the RFI, the internet speeds would be “100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.” 
The effort to partner resulted from a conversation between Mayors Hanafan and Suttle, in which the two agreed that strength could be given to a response if the two cities, along with Carter Lake, were able to partner on the RFI.  Both mayors have a shared goal to work together and make decisions that benefit the entire region, making the Google joint response a natural fit.                
“This is an outstanding opportunity for Omaha and our entire region to benefit from new technology,” Mayor Suttle said.  “Bringing Google Fiber to Omaha and Council Bluffs could mean the addition of more Google jobs and the potential to be the first cities nationwide to pilot a brand new Google product.”
“Our regional approach to the RFI will help our cities stand out in what is sure to be a highly competitive selection process,” Mayor Hanafan said.  “The benefits of bringing Google Fiber to the Metro area would be significant, providing opportunities for individuals and businesses to have access to the fastest internet speeds available.  It would be a great asset to our entire region.”
The mayors have joined forces with both the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce to complete the RFI, while also seeking community support through a nomination process.
The Google Fiber RFI gives residents and community groups the opportunity to go online and nominate their community at: http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options.   The online form provides an opportunity for individuals to tell Google how they would utilize ultra-high speed internet if the company chose to build the network in their community.  The form also encourages respondents to create YouTube videos to support their nomination.
Community support is already building for the project, as the Facebook fan pagehttp://www.facebook.com/GoogleFiberOmahaCouncilBluffs created on Monday, March 8, had over 1,000 supporters in less than 48 hours.

Crossroads defaulted on its loan last fall.  The trust that owns the property will have the auction this week.  Read the full story here.  With the recent midtown crossing selling lots of retail space, what will be the fate of Crossroads Mall?  Any speculations?  Guesses as to the sale price?

FHA is tightening up its lending this year.  Along with its increase in requirements for lending, FHA will be raising its upfront mortgage insurance premium to 2.25% up from 1.75%.  You may be asking what does this mean to me?  Well if you are applying for an FHA loan, this increased mortgage premium may increase your monthly payments by $50 to $100.  Depending on your income, this change may affect how much financing you qualify for.

On April 22nd A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruling will take effect.  The ruling says that any remodeling work on homes built before 1978 must be done by an EPA certified contractor.  The exception to this rule is if the work does not disturb the paint.  This may be hard to tell initially however.  Almost all paint before 1978 included lead and was used inside and outside the house.  

Landmark has already been certified as an EPA certified contractor.  If you plan on doing any work to your house or other persons houses, you should first look to an EPA certified contractor.

More information on this topic can be found at REALTOR.org.