The US Green Building Council has pronounced New Orleans home to the biggest green neighborhood in the world, thanks to the efforts of Brad Pitt and the group Make It Right who have built 13 LEED Platinum certified, storm-resistant homes and are planning another 150 more in the Lower 9th Ward .

Home at 1631 Tennessee (Photo: Concordia)

The neighborhood, already impoverished, was among those hardest hit by post-Katrina flooding when New Orleans levees failed after the 2005 hurricane.

Pitt and Make It Right Executive Director Tom Darden accepted an award for their rebuilding accomplishments at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York on Thursday.

“In transforming the Lower 9th Ward, Make It Right is showing us how we can transform those parts of our nation that have fallen behind the most, whether through neglect, poverty or disaster,” said President Clinton.

“Make It Right offers a blueprint for how to build homes that instill pride and combine to form communities of hope and opportunity. By following the Make It Right model, we can generate the green collar jobs our economy needs to move forward and advance building practices that reduce carbon emissions…”

Home at 1744 Tennessee (Photo: Kieran Timberlake)

Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council, said the Make It Right project “proved that green building can be both affordable and high performing.”

“In facing our nation’s unprecedented economic and environmental crises, we must change the way the places in which we live, work, learn and play are built and operated. What we’re seeing with green building goes beyond energy-efficiency to a transformation of entire communities – and the lives of the people who live there,” he said.

Fedrizzi presented the award, a LEED plaque to Pitt, Darden and Make It Right resident and Katrina-survivor Deidre Taylor, noting that Platinum certifications achieved in the neighborhood are the highest possible.

Make It Right is a collaboration between actor Brad Pitt, Steve Bing, Graft Architects, Cherokee Gives Back and William McDonough + Partners. Make it Right plans to have 50 homes up and running by December and 150 by December 2010.

Home at 1843 Tennessee (Photo: Billes Designs, New Orleans)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Move over Seattle, Portland, and Austin and other green heavyweights — make room for some like-minded  newcomers.

Columbus, Ohio; New Orleans, La., Syracuse, N.Y., and Louisville, Ky., residents might not be wearing Birkenstocks and basking under solar tubes. But they are living in some of the growing number of mid-sized American cities that are making impressive green strides, changing their attitudes and getting smarter about eco-choices.

Syracuse, led by Mayor Matthew Driscoll,  is becoming a greener “Emerald City” of New York with its sustainability website, partnerships with area universities and an impressive number 17 placement for 2008 on Popular Science’s list of the 50 Greenest Cities in the U.S..

“Going green makes sense — we’re the third largest collegiate community in America — we have major research institutes all right here. We’re a plethora of green activity, making green-collar jobs available,” Driscoll said. “Just ten years ago, I was talking about going green and people didn’t really get it. Now, with people paying four bucks a gallon in gas at times, people are listening. They’re very much in tune with conservation and transitioning into a green city.”

Also looking at a greener horizon, Mayor Michael B. Coleman is easing Columbus toward the earth-friendly forefront. “There are many, many green initiatives going on right now. We have an award-winning green fleet program, and we are making our city buildings green. We have a new “Green Spot” program with over 650 businesses and community groups signing up so far to make sure our city is making greener choices,” he says.

“I was an early supporter of going green in Columbus. I believe we must tackle our environmental issues head on, and I’ve created “The Green Memo”, which lays out a plan for making our air and water cleaner, and for attracting new, green jobs in our city,” he said.

With conservation becoming a must, and urban areas trying to find ways to save money like never before, going green is presenting simple and attractive solutions. Here are the most buzzed-about green happenings for these four locations, some of which are garnering national attention:

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus didn’t make the Popular Science list, but it’s got its own ambitious list of green initiatives and could develop into an unlikely green champion of the Rust Belt.