CitiesGoGreen -September 2008 - (Page 19) Community The Intersection of DESIGN and GREEN Building by Kathleen O’Brien, LEED AP, CSBA Green building and community development approaches are converging, to everyone’s benefit. Understanding this process reveals important ways local governments can encourage green building. reen building as a concept and “green” approaches to community development have had parallel but distinct and sometimes conflicting paths. Only recently have they begun integrating. When New Urbanism was introduced it didn’t consider the environmental impact of individual buildings within a new urban development. It was about livability, designing around the needs of people rather than of cars. The environmental benefits were incidental. On the other hand, green building proponents rarely took community development into account. This began to change when those responsible for green home rating programs realized what they were asking builders to do would be extremely challenging, if not impossible, without the context of green development. Home building organizations in Washington State, for example, found themselves developing Built Green communities along with Built Green homes. Similarly, LEED for Homes (a rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council) is now coupled with LEED for Neighborhood Development. Since municipalities shape what can and cannot be done at the development level with zoning stipulations and the like, it is up to community planners and policy makers to foster this important and vital marriage of green building and green development. Development of green building standards The development of green building has been quite different from that of other building standards. Direction has come from the design and construction industry instead of from building and planning departments. Green building has primarily established itself through market transformation rather than law, with government modeling the concept and proSeptember 2008 G viding incentives rather than direction. Seattle was one of the first cities in the US to hold itself accountable for building its projects to the LEED Silver Standard. Many jurisdictions around the nation now require their own facilities to meet LEED or equivalent green building standards. This ‘walking the talk’ is critical to establishing credibility and can foster skills, approaches and attitudes which transfer to other projects. Following this progression, aspects of green building are being increasingly mandated in the private sector. For example, Hawaii recently enacted legislation requiring solar water heating in order to obtain a residential building permit. Sensibly, the laws tend to require features that have made significant market inroads, making compliance and enforcement easier. As the urgency to address climate change and resource limitations increases, stronger regulation and planning directives are likely to appear. All this makes it easier for the City planner, but not a slam dunk for the developer. The key is to make sure the folks behind the counter are trained in green building concepts and techniques so they can apply those concepts properly, then get out of the way. In the recent past, developers have met resistance, not assistance, at the permitting counter. This is counterproductive. In western Washington, several jurisdictions, large and small, urban and exurban, allow expedited permitting for projects documenting their green aspirations. Programs in Kirkland, Issaquah, Seattle and King County provide technical and marketing support. The City of Seattle has long provided financial incentives for green commercial and residential projects. For example, high rise developers in downtown Seattle can build in extra floor How the Public Sector Can Encourage Green Building I am often asked what the public sector should do to encourage green building and development. This is the progression I have seen work: Step One: Walk the talk Absolutely the best first step is for governments to step up to the plate, employ green building in their own facilities and operations, and use this as a key element for industry-wide education. Step Two: Make building green convenient Make the use of green building and development technologies in private sector projects convenient through permitting and other incentives, as well as by thoroughly simplifying codes and policies. Step Three: Make conventional building inconvenient Make conventional building inconvenient (for example by employing a carbon tax based on projected greenhouse emissions or size). These measures will naturally lead to the market transformation the green building movement has been so good at. Step Four: Mandate proven practices Require sound green building and development measures when they are well-enough established in practice and commercially available. .com 19 http://www.citiesgogreen.com/component/content/article/42-september-2008/111-green-building-and-community-codes-converge http://www.citiesgogreen.com/component/content/article/42-september-2008/111-green-building-and-community-codes-converge http://www.citiesgogreen.com/component/content/article/42-september-2008/111-green-building-and-community-codes-converge http://www.citiesgogreen.com/component/content/article/42-september-2008/111-green-building-and-community-codes-converge http://CitiesGoGreen.com
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