Sustainable Cities
Mayors around the country are advancing bold visions for making their cities more environmentally sustainable through strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, manage water and energy resources and create more livable communities. Green affordable homes are a vital part of the new sustainable city.
Seattle, WA
The city of Seattle has encouraged developers to incorporate environmental principles through its SeaGreen program since 2002. The city frames its green affordable housing goals in terms of environmental sustainability and justice.
According to SeaGreen:
“Greening affordable housing is part of Mayor Nickels’ agenda to help promote more sustainable approaches to managing the built environment in a socially equitable way so those in our communities who can least afford it will benefit from healthy, high-quality affordable housing.”
San Francisco, CA
When San Francisco Mayor Newsom announced in August 2005 that all city-supported affordable housing developments would be required to include holistic environmental standards based on the Green Communities Criteria, he emphasized children’ health:
Children in low-income neighborhoods often suffer from childhood diseases like asthma or lead-poisoning that are exacerbated by unhealthy housing. By signing up to be the country’s first citywide Green Community, we’ll prove that it’s possible to build affordable housing and to build it green.” Learn about the San Francisco Green Initiative
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. passed a law requiring private developers to meet U.S. Green Building Council LEED standards for commercial projects and Green Communities Criteria for housing. The stated goal of the legislation is to "help mitigate the environmental, economic and social impact of built structures in the District."
Boston, MA
Boston has shown how a commitment to sustainable affordable homes can enhance interagency cooperation and secure resources for affordable housing from new funding sources – both often elusive goals for local governments. Mayor Menino formed the City of Boston Green Affordable Housing Partnership, consisting of the Department of Neighborhood Development, Boston Housing Authority, Boston Redevelopment Authority, Boston Public Health Commission, the Mayor’s Office and the Environmental and Energy Services Cabinet.
Truly sustainable cities should be able to reduce their capital budget needs over time and reallocate the savings to meeting pressing needs, including to the construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing. By ensuring the city’s affordable housing is green, further savings and other health and environmental benefits become part of the feedback loop of sustainability.
In this way green affordable housing should is simply part of a healthy city infrastructure both on the human and physical capital side – “gardens for growing people” in the words of Enterprise founder James Rouse.
