Green Neighborhoods

The Affordable Green Neighborhoods grant program, created by The U.S. Green Building Council (USGCB) and the Bank of America Foundation, plans to provide educational materials and financial support to developers of LEED-ND certification (LEED certified for Neighborhood Development).

The neighborhood development manager at USGBC, Sara Zycherman explains, “A lack of affordable housing remains one of the most critical problems facing metropolitan regions across the country.” She further explains this issue by citing The National Low Income Housing Coaltion, saying, “Over 6.5 million low income families spend more than 50 percent of their incomes on housing and utility costs.”

The major focus of this program will be in urban areas where there is a lack of affordable housing. Urban areas see the most amount of Americans spending most of their income on housing. Compounding this issue is the fact that the housing low-income families can afford lay in areas poorly served by public transportation or basic social services. The hidden costs of this regrettable reality lie in the increased vehicle miles to reach such necessities as well paying jobs, fresh food, health clinics and social programs. All factors which continue to entrench low-income families and their predecessors in the seemingly inescapable hole of urban poverty.

LEED-ND seeks to end this cycle by incorporating the principles of building green-scale construction with plans for sustainable growth in urban areas. Ideas of pedestrian-oreinted, mixed used development, and easily accessible transit options are coupled with housing options for a wide array on incomes. Preserving green space and habitat are paramount to these plans- allowing for healthy and sustainable urban communities.

Through this program, grants will awarded to housing developers and public agencies seeking to go above and beyond just the required objectives. Project application deadline is September 9^th, 2010. For more on this please visit www.usgbc.org/Displaypage.aspx?CMSPageID=2184

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Posted by Brett Nordin on Oct 14 2010. Filed under Construction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.