Orlando economist David Marks proposes Green Community Urbanization Act to create sustainable communities

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Orlando economist David Marks (top right photo), president of Marketplace Advisors, Inc. and a nationally recognized expert on the development of urban town centers, hopes he can convince the Obama administration to take up his proposal to introduce the Green Community Urbanization Act to restructure the national economy and focus on the health of local communities.

Marks said he has presented some of his ideas to the Urban Land Institute, International Council of Shopping Centers and the Florida Planning and Zoning Association.

The Green Community Urbanization Act is based on Marks’ Sustainable Community of Tomorrow model (SCOT), an urban economic development and redevelopment model Marks has proposed for cities and municipalities throughout the U.S.

The vision is to develop a sustainable economy and society that better balances the needs of the individual, society and the environment.   The implementation of such a vision would be a major stimulus to economic growth as green building and community infrastructure is put in place.

By re-envisioning our economy and focusing on the health of our communities we can transform our society into more sustainable places that are better positioned to help themselves, reducing our growing dependence on government. 

 To create such a strong healthy society we need to develop communities that raise healthy individuals, families, and community based institutions.

Marks’ Green Community Urbanization Act proposal calls for construction and renovated of over two million green homes and more than 500 million square feet of green commercial space over the next 10 years.

Local investors and public-private partnerships would fund most of the development costs, and Marks, who is writing a book on the subject, hopes to interest the federal government in funding up to one-third of the cost from a tax on fossil fuel consumption.

“The Green Community Urbanization Act initiative could generate more than one million jobs nationwide,” Marks explained.

“More importantly, the Green Community Urbanization Act would change the course of urban development to focus on the health of our communities and the creation of sustainable environments and sustainable economies,” Marks said.

For more information, please contact:  

David Marks, Marketplace Advisors, Inc., 407-599-0007, dmarks@cfl.rr.com;  

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, LV Communications, 407-644-4142