Who will opt for a green community?

New Urban News Article, 1/1/2008

Andres Duany identifies four main target groups and their outlooks.

To produce sustainable buildings and communities, it’s important to know who would like to live in them. Andres Duany identifies four target markets, which differ in outlook and personality. At the Green Architecture and Urbanism Council, he presented profiles of the four groups and discussed how to appeal to each of them:

• Ethicists: These are “the original environmental activists” and moralists and regulators, symbolized by Al Gore. They are motivated by guilt. “At their worst, they’re aggrieved and wear hair shirts.” In Germany, these folks may be the lion’s share of the market, but in the US, guilt does not motivate most people, and may in fact cause them to turn away, so new urbanists should be wary of tailoring their message to appeal mainly to ethicists.

• Trendsetters: These consumers are willing to make choices that generate environmental benefits, but not if it means sacrifice. They will recycle when it’s convenient. They will embrace energy-saving housing, but it “cannot look weird.” At worst, they are “subject to feel-good tokenism.” On the other hand, these “cool-hunting consumers will cause the tipping point” that allows a new way of doing things to prevail. They’re represented by Leonardo DiCaprio with his Prius. The approach that fits them will prove popular with architecture students, among others.