I have to admit I was a bit surprised to read that Jacoby Development, which wants to build a green mixed-use development around Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, expects to attract 72,000 vehicles a day to the site once work is done. Jacoby says it’s goal is to create sustainable environments. The proposed development reflects that thinking. It is planned for a brownfields site – an old Ford manufacturing plant. It’s supposed to use alternative energy. There’s talk about light rail and a shuttle service. But for all those steps, the development would still have to rely on its ability to attract millions of vehicles a year. That’s a daunting thought, all the more so when you realize that many – probably most – green buildings also depend on a steady flow of automobile traffic. I don’t want to diminish the value of green buildings or minimize the benefits that a developer like Jacoby brings to a project by incorporating green measures. It’s far easier to build a conventional building. But green buildings still come with strings attached – in this case, cars. The LEED rating system does provide some credit for measures to reduce occupants’ dependence on cars. And as the industry shifts to green buildings, a shift that is still in its early stages, people are increasingly cognizant of the multifaceted impacts that buildings have on the planet. As the movement matures, I think it’s logical to pay more attention to the broadest environmental effects of buildings, including cars.