Waubonsee Community College

Greening our built world, costs, benefits, and strategies, Greg Kats, principal author ; Jon Braman & Michael James

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-249) and index

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

Greening our built world

bibliography

423389130

Greg Kats, principal author ; Jon Braman & Michael James

costs, benefits, and strategies

"Green" buildings--buildings that use fewer resources to build and to sustain--are commonly thought to be too expensive to attract builders and buyers. But are they? The answer to this question has enormous consequences, since residential and commercial buildings together account for nearly 50% of American energy consumption, including at least 75% of electricity usage, according to recent government statistics. This eye-opening book reports the results of a large-scale study based on extensive financial and technical analyses of more than 150 green buildings in the U.S. and ten other countries. It provides detailed findings on the costs and financial benefits of building green. According to the study, green buildings cost roughly 2% more to build than conventional buildings, far less than previously assumed, and provide a wide range of financial, health and social benefits. In addition, green buildings reduce energy use by an average of 33%, resulting in significant cost savings. Greening Our Built World also evaluates the cost effectiveness of "green community development" and presents the results of the first-ever survey of green buildings constructed by faith-based organizations. Throughout the book, leading practitioners in green design, including architects, developers, and property owners, share their own experiences in building green. A compelling combination of rock-solid facts and specific examples, this book proves that green design is both cost-effective and earth-friendly

pt. I. Costs and benefits of green building. Methodology -- The cost of building green -- Energy-use reductions -- Advanced energy-use reductions -- Water-related savings -- Green affordable housing: Enterprise's Green Communities Initiative -- Health and productivity benefits of green buildings -- Green health care: assessing costs and benefits -- Employment benefits of green buildings -- Property value impacts of building green -- Net financial impacts of green buildings for owners and occupants -- pt. II. Costs and benefits of green community design. What is a green community? -- Setting the stage for sustainable urbanism -- Financial impacts of green community design -- Transportation and health impacts of green community design -- Property value and market impacts -- The market rediscovers walkable urbanism -- Social impacts of green communities -- Cost savings in ecologically designed conservation developments -- International green building -- Financial impact of green communities -- pt. 3. Communities of faith building green -- Faith groups in the green vanguard -- Methodology and findings -- Motivation -- Impact of green building in faith communities -- Financial stewardship -- Conclusion -- pt. 4. Green design, climate change, and the economy: potential impacts in the United States. Energy consumption -- Renewable energy -- Carbon dioxide emissions -- Financial impact -- Conclusion. Perspective: Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park -- Perspective: Water-saving strategies: Oregon Health Sciences University Center for Health and Healing -- Perspective: Birth of the Green Branch Bank -- Perspective: Green building as corporate social responsibility -- Perspective: Investing in brownfields -- Perspective: Measuring consumer demand for green homes -- Perspective: Monitoring performance at the LEED Platinum Center for Neighborhood Technology -- Perspective: Green buildings in China -- Perspective: A greener economic recovery -- Appendix A: Data-collection methodology -- Appendix B: Source list -- Appendix C: Green building data set -- Appendix D: Comparison of data set to LEED-new construction buildings -- Appendix E: Baselines used in cost and benefits estimates -- Appendix F: Issues in researching the cost of green building -- Appendix G: Cost of energy-efficiency and renewable-energy measures -- Appendix H: Energy-use baselines and standards -- Appendix I: Verifying the energy performance of LEED buildings -- Appendix J: Assumptions used for calculations of water savings -- Appendix K: Green building survey instrument -- Appendix L: Global assumptions for part IV