I have a problem. My problem is green sprawl--green buildings in acres of impervious parking lot, located in far flung suburban locales. There have been two recent articles that exemplify this issue: PNC Bank is developing green bank branches http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20070815_GREEN_are_its_BRANCHES.html and Best Buy is developing green stores http://masshightech.bizjournals.com/masshightech/othercities/twincities/stories/2007/08/13/focus3.html?b=1186977600%5E1504926. Much though I appreciate the goal of building green, without a larger perspective on the context for the buildings, it is nothing more than greenwashing. A green big box store on a greenfield requiring miles of infrastructure is simply not sustainable. The USGBC is attempting to remedy this situation through its LEED for Neighborhood Development, but all LEED rating systems should incorporate prohibitions on developing in an unsustainable fashion. In addition, green building regulations from government entities must also incorporate context into their requirements.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
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3 comments:
Could you clarify what you mean by this statement: "In addition, green building regulations from government entities must also incorporate context into their requirements."
(from August 15)
Thanks!
"In addition, green building regulations from government entities must also incorporate context into their requirements."
Can you please clarify what you mean by that?
Thanks.
Absolutely--the goal would be to develop green building regulations that were coordinated with the built context. For example, there is a growning trend towards "form based" zoning codes. See
http://www.nh.gov/oep/resourcelibrary/referencelibrary/f/formbasedzoning/formfirst.htm.
Form-based codes "seeks to regulate the form of the built environment. In contrast, conventional zoning primarily seeks to control land use and density, but is largely silent on matters of form beyond the most basic height, floor-area, and setback limits for individual buildings."
Similarly, green building regulations should not simply mandate the energy efficiency or water reuse, but also incorporate the form of building to avoid green buildings in large impervious parking lots.
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