And, soon, it may be part of the greenest alley system in the world.

Although alleys are designed higher on the sides than in the center (so that water flows to the street and then into catch basins), over time, they lose their grade. Water can pool up during storms and then run into yards and basements. Alleys also absorb heat and increase city temperatures.

To address these issues, about four years, the Chicago Department of Transportation explored the possibility of transforming the city’s 1,900 miles of public alleys into permeable alleys.

The “Green Alley Program” emerged and, using permeable asphalt and concrete, the city has succeeded in laying alleys that reflect heat and allow water to flow into the ground.

So far, 40 green alleys have been laid. And, this week, the Chicago Sun-Times announced that the program earned the city a 2007 Chicago Innovation Award.

The permeable asphalt recycles tire rubber in its mix and the concrete uses a byproduct of metal processing to make it reflective.

Want to know where to find local farmers’ markets, watersheds or nature museums? Or perhaps you just want to know the best bike routes boasted by your city? The Green Maps Web site contains more than 300 maps from around the world featuring green attractions.

Want to flex your own cartographic muscles? If you want to add to an existing map or initiate your own, Green Maps can help connect you with the appropriate contacts and tools.

Across the country, individuals are pledging their commitment to low-carbon lifestyles by joining Carbon Rationing Action Groups, or CRAGs.

The “craggers,” as they are known, calculate their personal carbon emissions from home energy bills, car emissions and airplane travel and then agree to limit their emissions to an amount set by the CRAG. Although each CRAG sets its own rules, in some groups, members who exceed their personal limit pay a fine which may then be donated to climate action nonprofits. Those who progressively limit their emissions each year can earn money from less frugal members, who pay into the group.

Three years ago, Mayor Daley suggested installing cameras on street sweepers to capture photos of cars illegally parked on days when street sweeping was scheduled.

Earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune reported that City Hall has issued a “request for qualifications” from companies interested in providing “high-resolution digital cameras”

Despite this latest development, many aldermen oppose the plan saying permanent signs that give drivers enough notice regarding parking limitations would be sufficient.

Now it seems that another Jarvis Hunt building is slated for demolition.

The 102-year-old Georgian-style house is one of eight buildingsat the St. James Farm property near Warrenville that the DuPage County Forest Preserve District plans to raze next month. Hunt designed several of his homes for Chicago-based industrialists; this particular one was built for businessman Frank Gorton, who founded the Chicago Edison Co.

Lincoln Park’s Arglington-Deming District was recently designated a landmark district by Chicago’s City Council. The decision will protect roughly one hundred buildings in the area that were constructed before World War II. A nighborhood association and Preservation Chicago, a nonprofit preservation organization, worked with Ald. Vi Daley (43rd) to secure the designation.

The landmark designation usually applies only to the street-facing side of the house, allowing owners to alter the sides and rear of the house.  So far, more than 40 Chicago neighborhoods enjoy the special status. Preservation Chicago has compiled a FAQ document that explains how clusters of residential buildings become landmark districts.

A forward-thinking innovation and design Weblog, Inhabitat.com, posted this week that Le Roy believes a full-scale system built with his technology could power 30,000 homes for a day with just one lightning bolt.

You’ve obviously heard of alternative energy. But, earlier this summer, Inhabitat.com also reported that other potential sources of energy include: methane from cow manure (yes, poop!), sound energy, human motion and spinach.

With everything from Cartier to the Cheesecake Factory, it’s a tourist’s wonderland. But the APA (with an office on South Michigan Avenue) says it honored the Magnificent Mile for its “urban symbiosis.”

North Michigan Avenue was included in Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett’s 1909 Plan of Chicago as a major commercial corridor. But over time, high-rise office buildings, luxury retailers, hoteliers and corporate headquarters rounded out the neighborhood.

Today, Chicagoans of every stripe and visitors from all around the world make it an active and multi-faceted urban hub.

Other honored streets include St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, LA, 125th Street in New York City and Ocean Drive in Miama, FL.

For now, it belongs to San Francisco (of course). Or at least the proposal belongs to what is arguably one of the country’s most environmentally progressive cities. To help fight sprawl, San Francisco is exploring development plans that would build up, not out. The Transbay Transit Center (which would include the soaring Transbay tower) is part of a plan to move commuters out of cars and on to mass transit to curb pollution and traffic congestion.

The tool is for discussion purposes only, but it walks users through an analysis of a fictional big box retailer moving into Anytown, USA to reveal its economic, social and environmental impacts. The evaluator was constructed to be an unbiased instrument to help citizens and local governments uncover the the positive and negative consequences of a new big box neighbor. The Orton Family Foundation is a non-profit organization aimed at using land use planning as a vehicle for creating sustainable communities.