residential development

Here on Building Green we talk a lot about how you live, but what about where you live? An article in the Baltimore Sun, quoted today on Lime, cites a study that claims we can do more to combat global warming by living closer together than we can by driving hybrid vehicles. The Urban Land Institute report, according to the Sun, claims that "The number of miles Americans drive has grown three times faster than the population since 1980, a trend the report's authors say led to spread-out development practices."

If you aren't a city mouse by nature, never fear. We suggest you check out the Natural Resources Defense Council's highly informative online guide, How Smart Growth Solves Sprawl, which includes a section on smart suburbs. You can read there about the Crossings (pictured), a successful suburban development in Mountain View, CA that is dense and walkable and a runaway hit with local residents.

What about the city makes this possible, while green-conscious cities like San Francisco are trailing behind?

This may sound counter-intuitive, building green makes even more sense to owners of income-producing property than it does to individual homeowners. Why? Simply put, most homeowners do not recognize the value of energy-saving innovations until after they purchase and move into into their next home.

Data from Building Green partner RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser & Co.) suggests that Americans want to recoup the investment in a "green home" in about four years, but that doesn't necessarily line up with how energy saving building practices pencil out. Most American homeowners move every 3-7 years, and the savings from lowered utility bills might not repay the investment in energy-saving features of a green home for 6-8 years.

New York is different from the rest of the country, however, because unlike the nation as a whole--where around 68% of households own their home--New York City is a renters' city, where almost the same percentage--67%--rent their homes. Among New Yorkers with incomes above $125k and a bachelor's degree or higher, 45% of the households are renters, and within this group, 37% of households have incomes over $125k and 14% have incomes above $250k, among whom are counted Wall Street employees earning record-level bonuses in recent years. New Yorkers on average have high incomes and are well-educated, the two most critical factors among housing demand correlated with the desire for a green home. So it's no wonder the demand for green rental units is high, and combined with the financial incentives, landlords in the city are seeing green.