Green building, healthy community

This past June, on the 28th to be specific, USGBC National released “Health is a Human Right. Green Building Can Help.” The emphasis on the relationship between green building and human health is a close to perfect fit for the work we’re doing with the Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation on our Dynamic Green Home. The linkage between health and affordable housing has been recognized for quite a few years. Reduction or elimination of lead paint hazards, ensuring radon levels are within guidelines and asbestos is remediated are all priorities. Reducing asthma triggers and indoor air quality contaminants are getting increased attention compared to just a few years ago. We were particularly heartened to find the following statement in the report:

“We must shift practice such that our definitions of sustainable building include the well-being of the people in the buildings and the community around them as a matter of course – not an incidental byproduct. In the new paradigm, human performance must be seen as important as energy performance; health conservation equal to water conservation; health management on par with waste management. And we must ground our choices in data, using research and evidence to inform our approaches to healthy design, construction and maintenance. It’s through this holistic approach that green building becomes not just a market transformation tool, but a human transformation tool as well.” 

929 Edmund (before)

It’s encouraging to see this kind of holistic approach because we already know of a number of studies indicating that health problems disproportionately affect those with lower incomes living in substandard housing. Furthermore, The Center for Housing Policy and Enterprise, a leading developer of Green Communities criteria, in a report published in 2007, found that “Well-constructed and managed affordable housing developments can reduce health problems associated with poor quality housing by limiting exposure to allergens, neurotoxins and other dangers.” That same report concluded “Use of green building and transit-oriented development strategies can lower exposure to pollutants by improving the energy efficiency of homes and reducing reliance on personal vehicles.” Our DGH efforts seem to be right in line with these findings. Be sure to attend one of our upcoming seminars to see how you can improve where you live with healthy options.