Monday, 29 October 2007 | Levent OZLER
Global Green USA Presents Solutions to Growing Need for Green Affordable Housing At Greenbuild Conference in Chicago
Buildings, which account for 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, need to be made with the earth in mind. But with the increasing costs of energy and housing, how can green housing be more accessible to a wide majority of home buyers and renters?
At the Greenbuild Conference in Chicago on November 5, Global Green USA will showcase viable, concrete solutions to meet the rapidly growing need for green affordable housing. Walker Wells, Director of Global Green USA's Green Building Program, will join developers from Chicago and throughout the Midwest region to demonstrate the design process for building green.
One of the country's foremost experts on the green affordable housing industry, Wells will demonstrate solutions that go well beyond changing lightbulbs, explaining how developers can avoid using toxic materials, reduce energy bills for residents and build more financially accessible, healthier living environments.
Wells edited Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, a book published in September by Island Press that features remarkable examples of successful green housing. For example, Greenway Park Cohousing is energy efficient and made with recycled, toxin-free materials-and is one of the first cohousing projects made exclusively for low-income residents.
According to the State of the Nation's Housing 2007, an annual report by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies, one of every seven American households pays more than half its income for housing and the number is rising.
Sponsored by the Home Depot Foundation, The Oak Hill Fund and the U.S. Green Building Council, the Greening Affordable Housing Workshop at Greenbuild will feature a morning training session on green affordable housing from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. In the afternoon, participants can watch developers conduct a design charrette, an intense, collaborative design process. Organizers expect over 20,000 attendants at this year's Greenbuild Conference.
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