The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(January 2012) |
Green affordable housing is reasonably priced housing that incorporates sustainable features. The phenomenon has become increasingly common in all over the world as climate change and the cost of housing become alarming issues. For example, the United States adopted state and local policies that favor or require green building practices for publicly owned or funded buildings. Potential benefits of green affordable housing include lower energy cost burden and improved health. One challenge to green affordable housing is the tendency to prioritize short-term costs over long-term benefits, leading to higher upfront cost. The challenge for green housing advocates is to see to the life cycle cost of the building. [1] Many affordable housing projects already find it a challenge to raise capital to finance basic affordable housing. This challenge is compounded by the phenomenon of urban greening and environmental gentrification (also known as green gentrification), which can drive up housing prices and becomes a challenge for green affordable housing. Green affordable housing has taken form in traditionally wooden homes, green homes and most recently with 'upcycling' shipping containers.
Although there is no single definition for what constitutes a Green Building, some elements recur in describing the concept. A Green Building can thus be defined as a high-performance building designed, built, operated and disposed of in a resource-efficient manner with the aim to minimize the overall (negative) impact on the built environment, human health and the natural environment. Some examples of green building features are choice of site and orientation, efficient use of materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation. [2]
Affordable Housing in the US is defined as dwelling units whose total housing costs fit within the budget of households at the local median income level. Affordability is commonly defined as not spending more than 30 percent of household income on housing. [3] Given the higher exposure of low-income households and the need for public assistance, the most salient features of green affordable housing are energy use, material use/durability and a healthy indoor environment.
Publicly sponsored affordable housing projects use public funds or tax breaks in order to increase the stock of housing available to low income people. In addition, these projects often seek to improve the quality of the stock, in order to offer "decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable living environments". [4] Green Affordable Housing projects add to those goals by lowering the lifetime cost of units and improving the quality. The concept of the triple bottom line defines sustainability to include economics, social equity and the environment. Affordable housing already addresses economics and social equity.
Sustainability measures obviously help the environment, but they can help the economics and social equity of housing projects as well. Housing units with a better design can improve health outcomes. With lower utility costs and improved health outcomes, the projects are more beneficial to low-income households, who are particularly exposed to poor housing quality and increases in general life costs, e.g. for utilities or medical expenses. [5] Economically, sustainable design lowers the lifetime cost of a building. Since the preservation of affordable housing is sensitive to public funding, making affordable housing greener is a logic step to reducing long-term costs and increasing stability. Green design increases the economics, social equity, and environmental impact of affordable housing projects.
The affordable housing stock varies in terms of ownership, type and quality. However, financing of affordable housing has in most cases been constrained which means quality of affordable housing construction projects often has been compromised.
Policy programs that require green building standards in new construction will contribute to greening the affordable housing stock. However, new construction, whether green or conventional building, will in general be of higher quality, more efficient and healthier than older buildings. In contrast, the existing affordable stock constitutes a challenge from many perspectives. According to the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) 5.7 million of American families live in substandard housing. [6]
Existing low-cost units tend to be older than the housing stock in general. For example, in 1995, 68% of the affordable rental housing stock was constructed before 1970 and another 21% were built before 1980. A considerable share of the older affordable rental stock has been removed from the market since 1995, but many of the remaining units are in older buildings. [7] [8] Due for example to differences in building standards, technical development and historical maintenance, the older building stock is generally of worse quality than newer buildings. Deficits include cold down draft, poor insulation and inefficient windows and appliances.
Poor housing quality and low incomes contributes to fuel poverty, a phenomenomen that is more common among lower-income household than among households in general. [9] Over the past decade home energy costs have risen in American homes in general. [10] For low-income households this cost increase is even more pressing, for which home energy expenditures can be as high as a fifth of household income and more than a quarter of total housing costs. For that reason, improving energy efficiency has been pointed out as one of the challenges for American housing by the Joint Center for Housing Studies. [8]
Energy expenditures for low income households have risen over the past decades, and the energy burden (energy expenditures as share of household income) has increased since 1997. Mean residential energy expenditures increased by 27 percent from 2001 to 2005, to $1,522, and by almost 20 percent to $1,822 by fiscal year 2009. The mean group residential energy burden (the ratio between mean energy expenditures and mean income for a given set of households) for households with incomes at or below 150 percent of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) poverty guidelines rose from 10.7 percent in 1997 to 13.5 percent in 2009. [11] Utilities are included in housing expenditures in calculations of housing affordability. However, higher energy costs mean that rents will be higher and/or that more assistance is needed to cover the difference between actual and "affordable" energy expenditures, assistance that already is insufficient to cover this gap. [12]
The deterioration of the existing stock has contributed to health problems for those living in affordable housing. Green updates to existing units can improve health outcomes. In addition, new housing units that address the causes of health issues improve the sustainability of the house. These units will have a lower lifetime building cost (because they won't need updates) and cost less to inhabitants (because of improved health outcomes). [13]
Depending on the extent of sustainability design, the costs of green building often imply an initial capital cost premium compared to the cost of conventional buildings. Newer technology and the requirement of special labor skills are examples of cost drivers in green building projects. However, careful planning and deliberate choices can minimize these upfront costs. [14] [15] It is expected that the costs of building green will decrease over time, thanks to experience and the development of products and services.
There are many new types of products in the market that offer green affordable housing. The type of area the housing is located in (rural versus suburban versus urban) can also play a big role in choosing the best resource in building affordable green housing. Other factors include the location of housing and the type of transportation options that it supports. "Dispersed, low-density housing often cannot support viable public transit, biking, or pedestrian options, all but making auto ownership a necessary cost. The true cost of housing, therefore, is the combined cost of housing plus transportation." [16]
Currently, one third of the human population resides in earthen houses; in developing countries this figure is more than one half. To build shelter in these developing countries with traditional industrial building materials (i.e. brick, concrete and steel) has proven impossible to fulfill the immense requirements for shelter in developing countries experiencing rapid population growth. [17]
Funds available to the development and maintenance of affordable housing are scarce and, in order to maximize the supply of housing, low construction costs are often favored in choosing projects. However, one of the main arguments for green affordable housing is that a higher upfront cost for construction/renovation can be motivated by a lower operating cost over the life-time of the building, i.e. a lower life-cycle cost. If the initial investment leads to lower operating costs and/or higher durability the higher upfront capital cost needed for construction or renovation can be justified. This is especially true considering that public funding and tax breaks (like the low-income housing tax credit) for housing often require a longer term perspective from its builders. However, the need to preserve affordability of housing sometimes restricts value enhancement over time and may thus be a barrier to investing in green features. [15]
General green building benefits include environmental, economic and social benefits. The potential environmental benefits are enhancement and protection of biodiversity and ecosystems; improved air and water quality; reduced waste stream and conservation and restoration of natural resources. Economically potential benefits include lower operation costs; a market for green products and services; enhanced occupier productivity and the optimization of life-cycle performance. Social potential benefits include improved health and comfort for residents, minimizing the burden on local infrastructure and improved aesthetics. [18] Affordable housing projects emphasize all three benefits, because they replace deteriorating stock, which harm the environment most and provide the least economic and social benefit.
The potential benefits of green affordable housing projects can be divided into direct, regional and global benefits. The direct benefits include lower utility costs, a healthier indoor environment and increased durability. Regional benefits include support for solid waste management and improved water quality. Globally benefits may include reduced energy use and carbon footprint and lower material use. [19]
Energy efficiency and other sustainability improvements for low-income households have external benefits as well. Governments, energy-providers, property owners, and taxpayers all experience direct financial, indirect financial, and social welfare and livelihood co-benefits from green affordable housing projects. The improved quality and energy efficiency of these projects result in direct financial benefit in the form of reduced energy bills, reduced outlays for assistance to low-income households, reduced rates of shut-offs and thus reduced related administrative costs. Indirect financial co-benefits accrue to residents, property owners and tax-payers and society as a whole. Examples of these co-benefits are increased property values and economic activity, increased home and fire safety and reduced involuntary mobility for low-income households. Potential co-benefits for social welfare and livelihood include improved comfort, health and safety for the residents, community pride and improved health outcomes. [9]
Governments, local housing authorities, and other interested parties can either begin new affordable housing projects with sustainable design, or retrofit the existing stock. While new projects require a larger upfront cost, these projects provide a greater return on investment than retrofitting. Initiatives for Green Affordable Housing are becoming increasingly more common, supported for example by The Green Affordable Housing Coalition [20]
To ensure the energy efficiency of affordable housing, state and local governments have implemented sustainability standards. Washington was the first state to enact green building legislation in the U.S., with its Evergreen Sustainability Development Standard. This standard requires that all buildings that receive public funding meet "79 criteria that safeguard health and safety, increase durability, promote sustainable living, preserve the environment, and increase energy and water efficiency.” This applies to all publicly subsidized affordable housing, but not private projects. [21]
The potential problem with sustainability standards is that projects will be more costly and projects will become cost prohibitive. While units that are built will be higher efficiency, the number of available units could decrease because of costs. A 2009 study prepared by Davis Langdon examines the effect of green standards on the costs of affordable housing projects in Seattle and Portland. This study compared "standard housing projects" (i.e. projects with no explicit sustainability goals) and projects attempting to achieve Built Green or LEED certification. The study includes both public and private affordable housing projects. At the time of the study, both cities had high sustainability standards for public projects, and Washington has only increased that standard since then. Construction cost analysis (in terms of cost per square foot) showed no significant difference between standard projects and green-rated projects. The study is limited by a small sample size, because of which they could not compare public and privately funded projects. [22]
Many jurisdictions offer options for updating the energy efficiency of existing housing stock. The US Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) offers the chance for low-income families to improve their housing in order to reduce energy consumption and costs. WAP uses funds from the federal Department of Energy. Federal funds are distributed by state offices and services are provided by local agencies. [23] WAP has suffered because of increased competition for federal funds. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) designated funds for WAP. The program as a whole was criticized for its failure to distribute these funds effectively. [24]
Energy-efficient appliances are another method for households to decrease energy use. Low-income households have trouble realizing this gain energy efficiency. Energy-efficient appliances require a large up-front investment, and savings will not be realized for many years. Local grantees have the option to use Weatherization funds to support appliance purchases. However, unlike weatherization programs, the gains in household budgets are often not worth the investment. A 2010 study examined the households' purchasing habits in regard to high-efficiency appliances. Using household-level data, this study determines that homeowners are significantly more likely to own energy efficient large appliances, such as refrigerators or washing machines. However, the results show that the cost of this problem is negligible compared to overall energy consumption. This finding is important considering the increasing efficiency standards for household appliances. A higher standard may put simple appliances out of the price range of low income households, while not offering much energy relief for households that do own them. [25]
As Green Affordable Housing still is a rather marginal phenomenon the outcomes of policy programs and specific interventions remain to be examined and confirmed. However, a number of studies are underway to examine the effects on health, energy savings and project costs. [26] [27] [28] [29] Other research initiatives seek to develop Green Affordable Housing while continuously evaluating the efforts. [30] Some early learning point to the importance of training, outreach and resource coordination for the success of a green affordable housing program. [31] For example, the government of Canada give out grants to retrofit existing homes as part of the Canada Greener Homes Initiative. [32]
As green affordable housing is a tangable solution for better housing for humans and the environment, it comes with its challenges.
One significant aspect to consider in the context of green affordable housing is the environmental impact of building construction, operation, maintenance, and demolition. According to estimates by the UN Environment Programme, greenhouse gas emissions from the construction, operation, maintenance, and demolition of buildings and structures accounted for 37 percent of total energy and process-related CO2 emissions in 2021. [33] Additionally, this sector contributes significantly to non-degradable waste. [33] However, more and more construction companies diverge to a more sustainable and resilient construction when building new buildings or adapting existing buildings. [34] Adapting existing buildings to make them greener or 'green retrofit' is also a more sustainable initiatives to minimize waste and cost of construction. [35]
One significant challenge facing green affordable housing initiatives is the phenomenon of urban greening (integration of green spaces and vegetation to improve the urban environment) which can lead to environmental gentrification. [36] Environmental gentrification occurs when environmentally improved neighborhoods attract higher-income residents, which can cause displacement and augmentation of housing costs for existing low-income residents. [36] Energy-efficient buildings, sustainable development projects and neighborhoods undergoing environmental improvements often become more attractive places to live, driving up property values, rent prices, and overall cost of living. [36] [37] However, urban greening it is important to note that urban greening can be a cause and effect of green gentrification as their relationship can be influenced by many factors such as "green space developments, including available suitable land, financial resources, political leadership, and policies and plans." [36]
Additionally, green gentrification can directly affect the availability and affordability of existing housing stock. [38] As property values rise, landlords may be incentivized to convert affordable rental units into higher-priced green housing or green luxury developments, displacing low-income residents in the process and reducing the number of existing affordable housings. [39] This limits opportunities for low-income residents to access affordable housing options. [40] It can also indirectly influence the development of new affordable housing in these neighborhoods. [40] The demand for housing in environmentally improved areas or with green housing may attract developers who prioritize higher-end or market-rate housing, rather than affordable or subsidized housing options. [41]
Efforts to address green gentrification and its impact on affordable housing require a collective approach that balances environmental sustainability with social equity. Policymakers, urban planners, and community stakeholders must implement strategies to preserve and expand affordable housing opportunities in environmentally improved neighborhoods. [42] Strategies may include implementing inclusionary zoning policies, rent control measures, affordable housing mandates, and community land trusts to ensure that low-income residents can continue to afford housing in these areas.
By addressing the challenges of environmental gentrification and promoting affordable housing opportunities, stakeholders can work towards creating more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable communities where all residents can benefit from green affordable housing. [42]
Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively or changing one's behavior to use less service. Energy conservation can be achieved through efficient energy use, which has some advantages, including a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a smaller carbon footprint, as well as cost, water, and energy savings.
National Energy Action (NEA) is a fuel poverty charity that works to eradicate fuel poverty and campaigns for greater investment in energy efficiency to help those who are poor or vulnerable gain affordable heat.
Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building also refers to saving resources to the maximum extent, including energy saving, land saving, water saving, material saving, etc., during the whole life cycle of the building, protecting the environment and reducing pollution, providing people with healthy, comfortable and efficient use of space, and being in harmony with nature. Buildings that live in harmony; green building technology focuses on low consumption, high efficiency, economy, environmental protection, integration and optimization.’
Green development is a real estate development concept that considers social and environmental impacts of development. It is defined by three sub-categories: environmental responsiveness, resource efficiency, and community and cultural sensitivity. Environmental responsiveness respects the intrinsic value of nature, and minimizes damage to an ecosystem. Resource efficiency refers to the use of fewer resources to conserve energy and the environment. Community and cultural sensitivity recognizes the unique cultural values that each community hosts and considers them in real estate development, unlike more discernable signs of sustainability, like solar energy,. Green development manifests itself in various forms, however it is generally based on solution multipliers: features of a project that provide additional benefits, which ultimately reduce the projects' environmental impacts.
The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) is a non-profit organization, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, which is committed to sustainable development and urban communities.
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affordable housing refers to mortgages and a number of forms that exist along a continuum – from emergency homeless shelters, to transitional housing, to non-market rental, to formal and informal rental, indigenous housing, and ending with affordable home ownership.
Domestic housing in the United Kingdom presents a possible opportunity for achieving the 20% overall cut in UK greenhouse gas emissions targeted by the Government for 2010. However, the process of achieving that drop is proving problematic given the very wide range of age and condition of the UK housing stock.
Green infrastructure or blue-green infrastructure refers to a network that provides the “ingredients” for solving urban and climatic challenges by building with nature. The main components of this approach include stormwater management, climate adaptation, the reduction of heat stress, increasing biodiversity, food production, better air quality, sustainable energy production, clean water, and healthy soils, as well as more anthropocentric functions, such as increased quality of life through recreation and the provision of shade and shelter in and around towns and cities. Green infrastructure also serves to provide an ecological framework for social, economic, and environmental health of the surroundings. More recently scholars and activists have also called for green infrastructure that promotes social inclusion and equity rather than reinforcing pre-existing structures of unequal access to nature-based services.
Efficient energy use, or energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. There are many technologies and methods available that are more energy efficient than conventional systems. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy while still maintaining a comfortable temperature. Another method is to remove energy subsidies that promote high energy consumption and inefficient energy use. Improved energy efficiency in buildings, industrial processes and transportation could reduce the world's energy needs in 2050 by one third.
This article provides examples of green building programs in the United States. These programs span the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and all have the goal of increasing energy efficiency and the sustainability of the built environment.
BREEAM, first published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1990, is the world's longest established method of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability of buildings. More than 550,000 buildings have been 'BREEAM-certified' and over two million are registered for certification in more than 50 countries worldwide. BREEAM also has a tool which focuses on neighbourhood development.
Land recycling is the reuse of abandoned, vacant, or underused properties for redevelopment or repurposing.
A Deep energy retrofit can be broadly categorized as an energy conservation measure in an existing building also leading to an overall improvement in the building performance. While there is no exact definition for a deep energy retrofit, it can be defined as a whole-building analysis and construction process, that aims at achieving on-site energy use minimization in a building by 50% or more compared to the baseline energy use making use of existing technologies, materials and construction practices. Such a retrofit reaps multifold benefits beyond energy cost savings, unlike conventional energy retrofit. It may also involve remodeling the building to achieve a harmony in energy, indoor air quality, durability, and thermal comfort. An integrated project delivery method is recommended for a deep energy retrofit project. An over-time approach in a deep energy retrofitting project provides a solution to the large upfront costs problem in all-at-once execution of the project.
Sustainable urbanism is both the study of cities and the practices to build them (urbanism), that focuses on promoting their long term viability by reducing consumption, waste and harmful impacts on people and place while enhancing the overall well-being of both people and place. Well-being includes the physical, ecological, economic, social, health and equity factors, among others, that comprise cities and their populations. In the context of contemporary urbanism, the term cities refers to several scales of human settlements from towns to cities, metropolises and mega-city regions that includes their peripheries / suburbs / exurbs. Sustainability is a key component to professional practice in urban planning and urban design along with its related disciplines landscape architecture, architecture, and civil and environmental engineering. Green urbanism and ecological urbanism are other common terms that are similar to sustainable urbanism, however they can be construed as focusing more on the natural environment and ecosystems and less on economic and social aspects. Also related to sustainable urbanism are the practices of land development called Sustainable development, which is the process of physically constructing sustainable buildings, as well as the practices of urban planning called smart growth or growth management, which denote the processes of planning, designing, and building urban settlements that are more sustainable than if they were not planned according to sustainability criteria and principles.
Gregory H. Kats is an American businessman, environmentalist, and thought leader in the green economy sector. He is founder and CEO of the Smart Surfaces Coalition, a non-profit organization consisting of 40+ national and international partner groups working to ensure the rapid, cost-effective adoption of reflective, porous, and green urban surface infrastructure, or "smart surfaces", in cities. Previously, Kats served as a Managing Director at Good Energies,[2] a multi-billion dollar global clean energy investor, and Director of Financing for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).[3]
Sustainable refurbishment describes working on existing buildings to improve their environmental performance using sustainable methods and materials. A refurbishment or retrofit is defined as: "any work to a building over and above maintenance to change its capacity, function or performance' in other words, any intervention to adjust, reuse, or upgrade a building to suit new conditions or requirements". Refurbishment can be done to a part of a building, an entire building, or a campus. Sustainable refurbishment takes this a step further to modify the existing building to perform better in terms of its environmental impact and its occupants' environment.
Public plans for energy efficient refurbishment are put in place by states to encourage building owners to renovate their properties in a way that increases their energy performance. As financing represents the most important obstacle to this type of renovation, the plans favour financial incentives in the form of loans or grants. Various institutions can be involved in the process, such as ministries, banks, firms, or energy services companies (ESCOs).
Environmental, ecological or green gentrification is a process in which cleaning up pollution or providing green amenities increases local property values and attracts wealthier residents to a previously polluted or disenfranchised neighbourhood. Green amenities include green spaces, parks, green roofs, gardens and green and energy efficient building materials. These initiatives can heal many environmental ills from industrialization and beautify urban landscapes. Additionally, greening is imperative for reaching a sustainable future. However, if accompanied by gentrification, these initiatives can have an ambiguous social impact. For example, if the low income households are displaced or forced to pay higher housing costs. First coined by Sieg et al. (2004), environmental gentrification is a relatively new concept, although it can be considered as a new hybrid of the older and wider topics of gentrification and environmental justice. Social implications of greening projects specifically with regards to housing affordability and displacement of vulnerable citizens. Greening in cities can be both healthy and just.
Precise definitions of sustainable construction vary from place to place, and are constantly evolving to encompass varying approaches and priorities. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines sustainable construction as "the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction." The Netherlands defines sustainable construction as "a way of building which aims at reducing (negative) health and environmental impacts caused by the construction process or by buildings or by the built-up environment." More comprehensively, sustainability can be considered from three dimension of planet, people and profit across the entire construction supply chain. Key concepts include the protection of the natural environment, choice of non-toxic materials, reduction and reuse of resources, waste minimization, and the use of life-cycle cost analysis.
Climate gentrification is a subset of climate migration, in which certain lower-socioeconomic communities are displaced in place of housing for more wealthy communities. Areas affected by this phenomenon are typically coastal cities, islands, and other vulnerable areas that are susceptible to rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and other climate-related disasters.
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