We’re going to be a more modest nation. We’ll buy what we need to live and be less concerned about fads and status.  We’ll be concerned about our exposure to fossil fuels and will seek out dense urban living for both the economy of heating and driving.

Many of us in Trenton, even conservatives like myself, see this as the writing on the wall.

Trenton developers like HHG, Bill Carlucci and Dan Brenna are working on green renovations that update housing stock to use next to no fuel. The Broad St. Bank building has afforded its tenants such high heat efficiency that the residents are giddy about it.

Trentonians can generally either walk to work or the train station or in the worst case have short, less than a mile, commutes. Many of us are waiting eagerly for electric cars to show up in showrooms as much of our driving is less than 10 miles.

While Trenton has had its share of foreclosures, developers here are building for the rebound.  They correctly assume that the next wave of home purchasers will shy away from suburbs that will struggle under a glut of McMansions and sprawl, in favor of an urban lifestyle.