Each day in the United States, 1.85 million square feet are certified as "green building." Growth projections suggest that more than 70 percent of the world's population will live in densely urbanized areas by 2050. While not the universal remedy for sustainable urbanization, the green building movement has emerged as an effective approach to addresses concerns associated with rapid urbanization. One aspect of the rapid rise in green buildings is the increase in specific and often highly technical green-building regulations. In the last five years alone, eleven new nationally recognized green building certification programs have been developed. As a result, local governments often mandate a particular certification as a prerequisite to building development. Yet, cities need to have a coherent set of regulations and construction industry professionals to deliver against these regulations. Similarly, as cities pass and develop new regulations, they need to consider how their new laws create potential unintended consequences. For instance, between the 1930s and '40s the Federal Housing Administration ("FHA") transformed the housing industry by implementing policies that increased home ownership. Intending to benefit the majority of American citizens, hindsight has taught today's policymakers that the FHA's actions ultimately created greater social divide between the "haves and have-nots, " increasing racial and socioeconomic segregation through urban sprawl and gentrification. (Ehrenreich, 1985). As green-building regulations become ubiquitous at the state and local levels, it is imperative that we understand how regulations impact the dynamics between local, state, and federal regulatory systems in order to fully consider the intended and unintended potential consequences of the recent green revolution (Abair, 2008). As a result, we should develop a deeper understanding of the intended and unintended benefits of the growth of green buildings. For instance, we should analyze how energy efficiency can be implemented as a proxy to identify which buildings in a portfolio need broader green building initiatives. The analysis will speed up the due diligence process in identifying buildings in need of initiatives. Growth in green buildings leaves a number of important and heretofore unanswered questions: How do we define green building regulations? How can we compare different regulatory guidances? What are the appropriate methodologies for comparing regulatory guidances? What are the potential unintended (and intended) unidentified consequences of green regulations? What is the dynamic between green building and gentrification? How can we use green building indicators, such as energy efficiency, as a proxy for implementing other green building initiatives? To complement the vast body of research on building energy efficiency and certification schemes, this dissertation analyzes three areas of green building: (1) standardization of green building guidance and the types of various green building systems; (2) the role of green buildings within cities and towns; and (3) a data-driven approach to better understand how energy efficiency can be implemented as a proxy for identifying a need for broader green building initiatives. To accomplish this, my research builds on the interdisciplinary nature of green building and the holistic view of sustainability (United Nations, 2016) by applying different points of departure including building regulation, local government law, and energy efficiency. First the research identifies important differences between green building policy and provides a methodology to identify appropriate guidance based on project priorities and location. Second, the research identifies the potential for unintended consequences of green building and draws parallels between historical dynamics of local government law and green building regulation within local jurisdictions. Next, the research examines the potential unintended consequences of green buildings by investigating the socio-economic patterns of current Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings in California cities and towns. Finally, the research uses an established statistical approach to cost-effectively and efficiently identify which buildings within a large-scale portfolio are most likely ripe for energy efficiency investment. This dissertation contributes to a better practical and theoretical understanding of green building policy and regulations within local, state and federal jurisdictions. Additionally, this research provides an approach to examining and identifying which buildings in a portfolio are ripe for broader green building initiatives. Policymakers and municipalities can use the contributions when evaluating green building options. Firms can use the contributions to cost-effectively and efficiently identify existing buildings in need of green building initiatives.

The increasing demand for rural land and its natural resources is creating competition and conflicts. Many interested parties, including farmers, nature conservationists, rural residents and tourists, compete for the same space. Especially in densely populated areas, agriculture, recreation, urban and suburban growth and infrastructure development exert a constant pressure on rural areas. Because land is a finite resource, spatial policies which are formulated and implemented to increase the area allocated to one use imply a decrease in land available for other uses. As a result, at many locations, multi-purpose land use is becoming increasingly important. This notion of multi-purpose land use is reflected in the term 'multifunctionality'.This volume provides insights into viable strategies of sustainable management practices allowing multiple functions sustained by agriculture and natural resources in rural areas. It shows how the rural economy and policies can balance and cope with these competing demands and includes numerous case studies from Europe, North America and developing countries.

In 2000, Seattle, Washington, became the first U.S. city to officially adopt the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) “Silver” standards for its own major construction projects. In the midst of a municipal building boom, it set new targets for building and remodeling to LEED guidelines. Its first LEED certified project, the Seattle Justice Center, was completed in 2002. The city is now home to one of the highest concentrations of LEED buildings in the world. Building an Emerald City is the story of how Seattle transformed itself into a leader in sustainable “green” building, written by one of the principal figures in that transformation. It is both a personal account—filled with the experiences and insights of an insider—and a guide for anyone who wants to bring about similar changes in any city. It includes “best practice” models from municipalities across the nation, supplemented by the contributions of “guest authors” who offer stories and tips from their own experiences in other cities. Intended as a “roadmap” for policy makers, public officials and representatives, large-scale builders and land developers, and green advocates of every stripe, Building an Emerald City is that rare book—one that is both inspirational and practical.

The book reveals how green buildings are currently being adapted and applied in developing countries. It includes the major developing countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, Cambodia, Ghana, Nigeria and countries from the Middle East and gathers the insights of respected green building researchers from these areas to map out the developing world’s green building revolution. The book highlights these countries’ contribution to tackling climate change, emphasising the green building benefits and the research behind them. The contributing authors explore how the green building revolution has spread to developing countries and how national governments have initiated their own green building policies and agendas. They also explore how the market has echoed the green building policy, and how a business case for green buildings has been established. In turn, they show how an international set of green building standards, in the form of various techniques and tools, has been incorporated into local building and construction practices. In closing, they demonstrate how the developing world is emerging as a key player for addressing the energy and environmental problems currently facing the world. The book helps developers, designers and policy-makers in governments and green building stakeholders to make better decisions on the basis of global and local conditions. It is also of interest to engineers, designers, facility managers and researchers, as it provides a holistic picture of how the industry is responding to the worldwide call for greener and more sustainable buildings.

Examining the most important issues in achieving the goal of building more efficient and less damaging buildings, this book highlight the significant statutes and regulations as well as other legal issues that need to be considered when advising clients in the development, construction, financing, and leasing of a green building. Topics include federal incentive programs, financing, alternative energy, site selection, land use planning, green construction practices and materials, emerging legal issues, and the effects of climate change on planning and architectural design.

This book covers the important aspects of greenery in buildings, both in the landscape and within buildings, examining how greenery improves comfort and appeal in sustainable buildings. The book is part of the World Renewable Energy Network’s drive to encourage architects and builders to use greenery as much as possible in their design to reduce energy consumption and provide a pleasant appearance and pleasing aspect to their buildings. It shows and demonstrates how widespread the use of greenery is in buildings, and the books 17 chapters were chosen from 12 different countries representing a truly global look at the use and benefit of using greenery in buildings. This book is aimed at architects, building construction authorities, urban planners, and policymakers to encourage the use of greenery in their future buildings and explain why it is important to do so.

With a growing awareness of the need for a widespread reduction in the use of natural resources, including energy and water, buildings have been identified as a key component of America's, and the world's, drain on these finite resources. However, changing building practices that have been the norm for more than a century has proven to be a difficult task, with many challenges and interests to be accounted for. Implementing green building policies has not yet become a standard practice in most U.S. cities. This study looks at various policy approaches and outcomes that aim to address the impediments to a market transformation towards greener building. Among the cities that boast a significant amount of green buildings certified by a third-party rating system, many different factors and dynamics, with varying participation and responses from the public, private and non-profit sectors have resulted in different outcomes with respect to green building in that particular city. This study looks at the green building policy and implementation landscape in four cities: Boston, Boulder, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. Each of these case studies offers a robust look at how green building policies were created, both the process and the implementation, and the building industry's response to these policies and programs. In addition, it looks at other players and circumstances that contributed to the dynamics that surfaced in that city. Primarily, the goal of this study is to glean lessons from these four cities, to draw some general conclusions about what elements effective green building policy incorporates and the process and implementation strategies that resulted in success in practice. The conclusions also identify the supporting factors that play an indispensable role in a successful outcome. Ideally this study may offer some general guidance for cities that are considering how best to approach this particular challenge and aid in structuring a green building policy that will produce concrete results. The general findings of this study are that effective green building policy should facilitate a market transformation in the building industry towards greener development through mechanisms that address both the supply and demand of green building products and services. Successful policies were designed to stimulate market potential so the practice of greener building would ultimately be profitable to developers, building professionals and valued by consumers. The obstacles to green building becoming a norm in the building industry can be initially overcome by thoughtful, tailored policy and can be ultimately sustained by pure market forces.

Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) What Is Green Building (GB)?: Energy; Water; Materials; Waste; Health; Siting; Serviceability; Disaster Resistance; Integration: Balance Among Elements; Balance Across Stages; Interdependence; Leadership in Energy and Environ. Design (LEED); Other Systems: Performance; Cost; Measurement; Market Penetration; Approach; (3) Legislative and Policy Framework; Energy Policy Act of 1992, and 2005; Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; ARRA of 2009; Executive Order 13423, and 13514; (4) Programs and Activities of Selected Fed. Agencies; GSA; DoE; EPA; Office of the Fed. Environ. Exec.; NIST; HUD; (7) Issues for Congress: Oversight; Adoption and Implementation of GB. Charts and tables.

Policymakers in the U.S. have taken steps to create systems and revise processes in order to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change. Significant policy activity has taken place at the local level, and cities have implemented a variety of policies focused on the built environment. These policies range from financial and procedural incentives to formal restrictions and building codes, spanning changes in land use, design, construction and operations of new and existing buildings. The significant social, environmental and economic impact represented by these policies suggests the need for a thorough understanding of their effectiveness and impact. Policy which governs the built environment depends on the informed participation of businesses. Corporations occupy and invest in the urban environment through new construction or renovation. However, research has not yet examined the underlying factors and dynamics which influence the extent to which businesses adopt, promote or obstruct the sustainable building policy changes of the past decade. An investigation of this nature is especially critical as a new wave of regulatory changes oriented toward resiliency of the built environment is under consideration by cities and states. This dissertation focuses on the relationship between public policy and corporate decision-making and action. The overarching question of the study is, "How do businesses which affect the urban built environment through real estate property development and management respond to regulatory change affecting buildings?" More specifically, "How does the adoption of building rating requirements, performance-oriented building codes, or building energy asset labeling/disclosure programs affect the way companies assess, prioritize and implement investment opportunities and obligations?" Based on qualitative data derived from one on one interviews with professionals in corporate decision-making roles, I will argue that green building policy change is a mechanism which ignites a network of forces driving new business practices across a production ecosystem of companies linked by business relationships. In this ecosystem the real estate developer occupies a key role of marketplace initiator. The perception of regulation for developers is a significant factor in policy effectiveness. Due to the complexity of the process of production of the built environment, it is necessary to investigate the question at three levels - looking at the system of cause and effect as a whole as it is perceived by developers, delving into the behaviors of developers and allied professionals who operate within the system, and investigating the interpretations and responses to specific regulations which represent different approaches to the problem of climate change. The data on professional perceptions of policy and market forces depicted in the form of causal maps will show that the overall system of policy-driven practice change is understood as a structure dominated by two sets of forces - those of public interests expressed through policy, and those of the marketplace expressed in terms of supply and demand. The interaction of regulation and market influences the way that these forces impact the network of independent businesses which produce the built environment, the aggregated production ecosystem for urban buildings, and the way that individual professionals adapt and develop new practices in response to the requirements of regulation. The attitudes, beliefs of norms of different professional groups represented in the network from real estate investors to developers to designers to contractors influences the adoption of these new practices. The successful implementation of regulation requires that each participating company in the production ecosystem achieve a degree of practice change alignment, yet the data suggests that practice change propagates at different rates based on the readiness and expertise of companies and professionals who comprise the ecosystem. I will argue that causal maps combine with observation derived from the data to form a grounded theory about the way real estate developers experience practice change in three key aspects of their work, "Discovering Opportunity" - when potential projects are identified and prioritized, "Experiencing Difficulty" - when projects hit obstacles, and "Changing Practices" - the timeline over which regulations are internalized in a company through new processes and methods. Developers, as actors negotiating risks and competing to succeed within a marketplace governed by public regulations which protect the health, safety and welfare of the community, articulated a commitment to improving the urban environment through their work, and expressed understanding of cause and effect relationships and complex interaction between economic and social worlds. Real estate developers are positive about the prospects for change and for the collaborative working relationship between company and public agency which enables successful project realizations. Interviewees spoke about alignment of goals, in that developers and agencies share an interest in creating economic opportunity for the community. At the same time, both are aware that at times they sit on opposite sides of the table. As a result, this research has implications for the way that policymakers assess the results of green building policies and develop future regulation to drive the production ecosystem as a whole in positive directions.

What are the real costs and real benefits of building green? As any builder knows, cost estimation and reality are often two very different things. The Green Building Bottom Line makes the case for green building by providing the insights and data that demonstrate the true costs and benefits of building green. It's a “why to” and a “how to” that explores everything from the ground up. The Green Building Bottom Line puts an entire development team at the table to better understand both the issues encountered and what's behind the perceived price premium for building green. This candid and transparent account explores every aspect of green development on groundbreaking projects, from the nation's first all-retail LEED core and shell project to an innovative multitenanted LEED-Existing Buildings office project, to a mixed-use hotel-retail-condo project in a transitional urban market. The authors focus on such issues as values, culture, life-cycle costs, insurance, financing, coordinating a team, marketing, and negotiating leases. Includes: Detailed case studies of green-building projects, start to finish Information on financial, legal, and operational aspects of the job The real-world costs of green building-not unrealistic estimates A behind-the-scenes look at the LEED building process Unique insight from those who have actually done the work The Green Building Bottom Line covers: • Economical and ecological benefits • Auditing sustainability in existing buildings • Financial benefits of green tenancy • Loan analysis • Insurance underwriting • Expense reduction • Writing a green lease • Converting an existing building • Green retail • Brokering sustainability • Marketing • HR practices and processes