As with any successful venture, financing is an important component of green development. This section provides links to a variety of resources that address green development financing and related issues.

Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages, has several mortgage finance options that capture emerging market opportunities while addressing environmental concerns, such as energy- and resource-efficient design and construction, smart growth, sustainable communities, and emissions trading.

Bank of America
Supports sustainable metropolitan prosperity through its community development lending, brownfield redevelopment, growth management, and inner city revitalization.

ShoreBank Pacific
This innovative bank lends to small businesses in the Pacific Northwest and provides information on conservation improvements that can increase a borrower's bottom line and the value of their business. Shorebank Pacific assists borrowers in using energy efficiently, reducing waste and pollution, conserving natural resources, and optimizing profitability.

Community Development Financial Institutions
Community development loan funds are nonprofit, unregulated intermediaries that pool investments and loans provided by individuals and institutions at below-market rates to further community development, typically financing the housing and economic development projects of community development corporations and other community-based organizations.

Funding Green Buildings Toolkit
This printed directory describes major grants, loans, and green manufacturing donor sources. Also includes a strategic planning checklist for developing a capital campaign, sample grant application components, green development-related technical resources & organizations.

Real Estate Development: Principles and Process - Urban Land Institute
Though not focused on Green Development, this ULI classic textbook provides an excellent overview of the fundamentals of real estate development finance that must underlie any project.

The Green Building Re$ource Guide (PDF)
Encourages green development by serving as a clearinghouse of funding resources, thereby simplifying the process of financing green building design and construction projects. Lists funding opportunities from various sources, with special attention given to programs that focus their efforts in the Great Lakes states covered by U.S. EPA Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin).

Linking Vision with Capital: Challenges and Opportunities for Financing Smart Growth (PDF)
This report from the Research Institute for Housing America provides a comprehensive look at obstacles facing smart growth projects and what the two essential parties--local government and the real estate finance community--can do to make smart growth work.

Financing Change: The Financial Community, Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable Development
By Stephen Schmidheiny and Federico Zorraquin
At first glance, this book would seem more in the realm of bankers or investors. However, it is highly recommended to design professionals, as buildings and other development projects are capital-intensive undertakings. Although focused on large-scale developments and the industrial sector, the book seems equally appropriate to residential, small commercial or institutional projects.

Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate
Serves as a comprehensive guide to all aspects of sustainable real estate development. Chapter 8 of the book focuses on financing. Produced by the Rocky Mountain Institute. A companion CD ROM also is available.

Public and Private Initiatives in Sustainable Building and Development (PDF)
A list compiled by the Development Center for Appropriate Technology of agencies and organizations with an interest in supporting green development efforts.

Financing Brownfield Redevelopment Projects: A Guide for Developers
An EPA guide that provides information on brownfields financing issues and informs developers and property owners on the most crucial aspects of financing brownfields redevelopment: identifying potential financing sources, preparing project plans, approaching private lenders, minimizing the financial risks associated with liability, and understanding the site assessment and cleanup process.

A Guidebook of Financial Tools: Paying for Sustainable Environmental Systems
This U.S. EPA guide provides a reference work intended to provide an overview of a wide range of ways and means that are useful in paying for sustainable environmental systems. It is divided into 10 sections, presenting outline information on approximately 250 financial tools. Primary sections include means of raising revenue, borrowing capital, enhancing credit, creating public-private partnerships, and ways of providing technical assistance.

Smart Growth Network's Economics Resources
Provides access to a range of articles and resources for financing smart growth projects including brownfield development and urban redevelopment.

Sustainable Building Technical Manual (large PDF)
Chapter VII reviews sustainable building financing issues and opportunities for local governments, as well as future green building issues and trends.

Smart Links: Turning Conservation Dollars into Smart Growth Opportunities
A report from the Environmental Law Institute that links conservation funding with techniques to promote smarter growth and compatible development on nearby lands.

"Banks Rake in the Green by Being Ecologically Aware"
Boston Business Journal describes how banks have instituted programs meant to promote environmentally sound practices internally, while lending departments have brought on environmental advisers to help assess prospective loans, contaminated collateral and cleanup plans.

Financing Progressive Development
This article in Capital Xchange web-based finance journal explores some of the reasons that new urbanism, smart growth, and sustainable developments have had difficulty attracting conventional financing, and makes recommendations for measuring the value of progressive development.

"Bank of America and the Urban Land Institute Partner on Smart Growth"
Bank of America issued a press release on its $200,000 committment to the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to foster more informed and collaborative efforts among Smart Growth Stakeholders.