A handful of thinkers and architects are pushing past LEED requirements to design buildings that generate more energy than they use.
"(E)ven buildings that are LEED Platinum-the highest rating in the system-can use 80 to 100 kilowatts of energy per square meter, and some say the bar is set far too low. "LEED Gold is kind of a C right now," says James Brew, principal architect with Rocky Mountain Institute's (RMI) Built Environment Team. "Maybe LEED Platinum is a B or an A-minus."
What would an A-plus look like? RMI's team-a group of Boulder, Colorado–based architects, analysts, and consultants that function as a green think tank-spend their days reimagining structures as what they call "high-performance buildings" that actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions, rather than just stabilizing them. They call the initiative "Cooling the Warming." Under their tutelage, buildings will become giant air or water filters in which people happen to live or work. Extra energy will be produced through concepts like RMI's Next-Generation Utility-smart meters and programmable controls allowing homeowners to automate their own home energy use-or the Smart Garage, where electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (another of RMI's favorite research topics) can tap in to the power grid, either for charging batteries or supplying energy to the grid if they've saved more than they need."
FULL STORY: Structures so green they give back to the environment
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15 Cities Receive Grant Support LEED for Cities and Communities Program
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Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
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.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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