Sustainably Supplying the Demand for Affordable Housing

The demand for affordable housing is large.  According to a 2011 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)  study, worst case housing needs – those low-income households spending which pay more than half of their monthly income for rent, lived in severely substandard housing or both – jumped to 7.10 million cases in 2009.  While this number alone demands attention, it should be noted that the number of worst case needs reported in 2009 grew 42% since 2001.  Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the need for safe, decent, and affordable housing has skyrocketed over the past decade.  HUD reported that this need was met with limited demand across the country; a scarcity of affordable rental units persists. 

 

As the demand for affordable housing has grown, so too has the popularity of green building practices. In the face of global climate change, public and private entities have increasingly adopted green building practices in the new building and rehabilitation of homes, commercial buildings, and civic facilities.  Often they’ve done this to reduce energy and water consumption, improve indoor air quality, increase durability and longevity, and strengthen community.  Despite these benefits and the mainstream green building trend, affordable housing developers “have been uncertain as to whether incorporating greening in their mission is appropriate and effective,” according to a New Ecology Inc. report.  Specifically citing costs and development process complexities as major concerns, these developers have been slow to adopt green building practices.

 

Still, they believe that “green affordable housing is better affordable housing.”  Why?  Green affordable housing tackles the triple bottom line of sustainability: it promotes social equity, encourages environmental stewardship, and stimulates economic growth among individual residents and the greater community which they call home.  The key to successful green affordable housing projects is not only building with sustainable building materials, but also addressing individual residential and community needs. 

 

While not all green affordable developments are built the same way, there are some commonalities that set these developments apart from traditional affordable housing design.  Green affordable housing units are healthier and less costly places for residents to live.  Low-fume paint and carpeting, as well as improved ventilation systems keep air clean for inhabitants.   These durable materials do not need to be replaced as often, saving money over the long term.  Structural features including the use of recycled materials, installation of thick insulation, and incorporation of southern-facing windows, lower the carbon footprint of the building process and lower residents’ heating and cooling costs.  Energy efficient appliances and water-conserving features (including front load washing machines, low-flow toilets, and aerated faucets) further reducing residents’ environmental impact and utility bills.  The New Ecology Inc. report details that for up to 5% more in development costs, green buildings save up to 50% on energy costs, up to 20% on water costs, and also save 20% on electricity costs.

 

Good green affordable housing design focuses not only on the housing units themselves, but also on the surrounding community.  The planting of rooftop gardens, rain gardens, and urban produce gardens is aesthetically pleasing and environmentally beneficial for residents.  Increased access to green space provides nearby recreational opportunities and community gathering spaces for households.  More and more, green affordable housing units are adopting the transit-oriented development model.  Transit-oriented development provides close access to public transportation stations, retail amenities, and community facilities which makes it easier and more convenient for those low-income residents who rely on public transit to get to work, the grocery store, and school.  Finally, green affordable housing projects can override the stigma of living in low-income housing and can even become a point of pride for the neighborhood, spurring additional development.

 

Moving forward, there are numerous programs supporting the incorporation of green design in affordable housing development with the hope of proving sustainable living alternatives for those households with the worst case need.  Established in 2004, LISC’s Green Development Center provides “financial resources, technical information, partnership opportunities, education, and policy support to… accelerate the integration of sustainability principles in the development of low-income neighborhoods.”  Since 2004, LISC has invested over $665 million to build over 20,000 green affordable housing units in addition to commercial and community facilities, including Silver City Townhomes in Milwuakee.   Enterprise launched the Green Communities Initiative in 2004 to sustainably transform the siting, building, and rehabilitation of affordable housing.  The organization worked with leading national environmental, health, smart growth, and green building organizations to develop the Green Communities Criteria which detail “more than 60 measures that promote environmentally sustainable materials, resource efficiency, healthy indoor living environments, and locations that provide easy access to community amenities and public transportation.”  You can take a virtual tour of Trolley Square – an Enterprise Green Communities in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Guest Contributor: Emily Bacha

(Emily discusses environmental issues biweekly at http://thecoolship.com/author/ebacha1/.)

 

Comments

[Clay Kerchof]

This post is attractive, because at its roots it is asking the question what is affordable green housing? . What is the demand for it? How should we think of sustainability in considering affordable housing? Can environmental stewardship and sound economics go hand-in-hand? What are the alternative angles from which to view affordable housing?
There is a convincing argument to made that all affordable housing these days should be green housing, because if we are making the investment in affordable housing to begin with, it should be a long-term investment that supports our long term energy goals and supports sustainable development. Even though not all people are on the sustainability bandwagon, it is certainly a growing movement. Eventually sustainability and long-term comprehensive planning will be inevitable. It will be too costly and detrimental not to.
I agree with you that green housing affects not only the families who live in the units but also the surrounding community. It could raise surrounding property values and therefore elevate a community’s tax base, but it would also reinforce sustainable lifestyles and principles. It is important for people to think about these issues regularly. Putting a big reminder of it in a community might be effective.
I particularly like the point that green affordable housing can be a “point of pride for the neighborhoods spurring additional development.” If a long-term investment were put in a low-income community that promotes sustainability fundamentally, I think that opens up more opportunities for similar projects in addition to grassroots efforts to improve the physical environment of the community. Such efforts not only improve the health and cleanliness but also has the potential to bridge social and economic groups and strengthen diversify a community’s social networks.
It is promising that LISC and Enterprise Community Partners has already made significant investments in green affordable housing units. This indicates that green has made its way into the affordable housing network. Can green interests and funding be leveraged in the same way as affordable housing interests?
The blog links to a New Ecology Inc. publication that states there is no standard definition for what green affordable housing is. This opens up a whole new field of inquiry. This is an exciting new direction for research in cost-effective “green” design and civic participation in process that promotes green infrastructure. In the future I hope to see sustainable design practices, affordability and citizen participation to become more interwoven to create a process with more stakeholders and leaders in which knowledge and decisions concerning community welfare is distributed more evenly.

[Burgess Rice]

There has been a large national effort to raise the bar for sustainability within all new construction and renovation projects in the United States. Cities are determining their own standards to fulfill specific levels of LEED certification, while the national government is aiming for all new construction efforts to reach net zero energy by 2020.

Several examples of affordable housing have already fulfilled these goals. For example, the Urban Land Institute sparked a series of sustainable low-income housing efforts in the mid-2000s. Solara, a development located 20 miles outside of San Diego, harnesses the sun’s energy through photovoltaic panels, which are positioned on the roof of every house and carport. These panels capture not only enough energy to power all of the residents homes but also to export leftover energy to the San Diego grid. Solara’s sustainable efforts are enhanced by its landscape, which provides lemons, rosemary and sage plants to its residents. The low-income tenants, as a result, do not have to pay electric bills. Another example, Plaza Development, located in the San Francisco Bay area, reached LEED silver certification through the use of PV cells and the installation of nontoxic paint, cabinets, and other interior finishes. Both Solara and Plaza tenants are provided with sustainable instruction and/or manuals, to ensure that the green ethos of these developments is upheld.

Within our own town of Charlottesville, Sunrise Park, a mixed-income development that replaced a decades-old trailer park, also uses sustainable techniques. The residents of the trailer park worked with Habitat for Humanity to ensure that their new homes would incorporate green strategies. EarthCraft certification, a sustainable index specifically designed for America’s northeast region, was attained on all of Sunrise Park’s new buildings. Additionally, a rainwater collection system promises to be the main source of plant irrigation on-site. Other rain gardens are distributed throughout the development, and several energy-efficient appliances are installed in the homes. Sunrise Park exemplifies how sustainable efforts are initiated by national organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, local governments, like the City of Charlottesville, and longstanding neighborhoods, including the residents of Sunrise Trailer Park.

The three case studies I mentioned demonstrate how success for sustainable affordable housing can be attained from the east coast to the west coast. I would encourage the research of even more case studies, many of which can be found in databases produced by sustainable institutions nationwide. Armed with more precedent studies, the future of American low-income housing can improve the immediate environment of its residents, as well as the larger environment that we all share.

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Au sein de notre propre ville de Charlottesville, Sunrise Park, un développement à revenu mixte, qui a remplacé un parc à roulottes vieux de plusieurs décennies, utilise également des techniques durables. Les résidents du parc remorque a travaillé avec Habitat pour l'humanité afin de s'assurer que les nouveaux foyers incorporer des stratégies vertes.

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