Greenbuild and USGBC's Affordable Housing Summit

This month, Greenbuild is convening for their Annual International Conference and Expo in Chicago, Illinois; during this time, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) will hold an Affordable Housing Summit (AHS). General Colin L. Powell will keynote the Greenbuild Opening Plenary. The AHS, on November 16th, will focus on international models and trends, retrofit financing, investor considerations and hold affordable housing charettes. AHS attendees will have access to salons, off-site education sessions and the Greenbuild Film Festival.  This is an excellent opportunity to explore recent affordable housing developments, best practices and opportunities to leverage the nation’s vast investment in energy efficiency and weatherization.

The United Nations estimates that half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, with projected growth to break 70% by 2025.  With over 125 million existing housing units in the United States and less than 1 million units built annually, a heavy emphasis must be placed on retrofitting existing infrastructure.  Exploring attractive financing tools, audit protocol and data to support these necessary upgrades are critical in moving forward and best practices will be shared during this summit.

A focus on affordable “green” housing is often undervalued and when viewed closely, provokes unique business and regulatory opportunities. Low-income families spend roughly 17% of their income on energy bills every year.  This population is particularly vulnerable to the fluctuating costs associated with housing and energy; expenses that are necessities not luxuries.  These fluctuations are compounded by constant upticks in customer rates and bills from their utility providers. In addition to extensive weatherization, retrofitting and financing efforts, utilities should set aggressive long-term energy savings and targets and explore decoupling options without compromising the financial health of low income customers, to truly enhance affordable housing for these constituents.

A few  factoids on the importance of affordable green building:

• 42% of all LEED-certified homes qualify as low-income housing.
• Inhabitants of low-income housing have disproportionately higher rates of asthma and upper respiratory diseases. Green building inhabitants have 40-60% fewer incidents of colds, flu and asthma due to access to fresh air, better ventilation systems and non-toxic paints and furniture.
• Affordable green homes result in significant cost savings for low-income renters and owners, reducing their operational expenses over the long-term by investing in enhancing their energy efficiency and relying on alternative energy sources.

Green infrastructure has literally taken the world by storm. Given the economic benefits of investing in green building, this investment is eternally in vogue. Spreading the wealth among all classes is not only good for low-income individuals, but also for the businesses that build them and the environment.  These affordable green homes reduce the environmental impact of residential units through sustainable designs and construction practices that increase energy and resource efficiency while reducing sprawl.

During the AHS, the USGBC plans to further illustrate the benefits of affordable green housing by teaming up with Habitat for Humanity Lake County and Bank of America to build two affordable green homes in Lake County, Ill. Both homes are targeted to achieve LEED for Homes Platinum certification, the highest residential buildings certification!

For details and information on how to participate in Greenbuild and USGBC’s AHS click here:

http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/education/Affordable-Housing.aspx