The Boston City Council approved a new ordinance would eliminate emissions from the 4 percent of the buildings responsible for 60 percent of the city's building emissions.
"The city of Boston will require all buildings over 20,000 square feet to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050," reports Scott Pruden.
The City Council voted to approve the new zero emissions requirement on September 22. Many local governments face resistance from state legislatures with preemption powers over local building codes.
"The ordinance applies to about 4% of the city’s structures, including commercial and residential buildings that produce 60% of the city’s building emissions," adds Pruden.
Pruden describes Boston's action as the latest in a string of U.S. cities reducing or eliminating emission from buildings, including the cities of Berkeley, San Francisco, and Seattle—all of which have voted in the past two years to restrict natural gas infrastructure in newly constructed buildings.
FULL STORY: Boston passes new building decarbonization ordinance
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions