Greening Affordable Housing

I've mostly steered clear of writing about "green" jobs and the "green" economy here, as the hype reminds me a bit of the dot-com era.  Suddenly everyone and everything is going green, to the ridiculous extent that a proposed development with the equivalent of six malls of retail space can be considered green because of the solar power it will generate.  (Read the article and ask yourself - why not just invest in solar panels for existing houses?  Is creating an entire town, basically, far from jobs or neighboring cities, truly "green"?)

Yet, of course, there are tried and true green opportunities out there for healthier living, and it's through these early programs and follow-on innovations that we can better respond to global warming and climate change.  For affordable housing, that includes retrofitting existing buildings and homes, weatherizing low-income properties, and building new housing using sustainable materials and designs that respect the natural environment.  When done correctly, these efforts can provide beautiful homes for low-income families and offer substantial savings on utility bills, as well as reductions in food and healthcare costs.

The stimulus package is elevating some of these previously obscure initiatives, namely the decades old Department of Energy weatherization program.  In Connecticut, the state's low-income household weatherization program is "enjoying" the most "dramatic" increase in funds due to the stimulus bill.  I qualify "enjoy" because to ramp up the program the state must now recruit, hire and potentially train dozens of new staff members to conduct energy audits and oversee or implement weatherization improvements to housing around the state.   This is the essence of "green" jobs that advocates describe - training entry-level or dislocated workers or workers in the trades on new technologies such as solar panel installation, energy auditing, etc.  We can't revolutionize the economy based on expanding workers' skill sets like this, but it's certainly an opportunity for those of us who are interested in matching up workers with potential careers.

A great example of sustainable (not to mention culturally relevant) design is happening on Indian reservations in Wisconsin.  There, "Green-Generation-Houses" are being built for extended families to live together, with doors designed to face east or west according to Native American traditions, and using a mix of clay and straw for insulation - a technology that can be reproduced locally with only modest training.  I particularly like the quote from the architect whose help was initially requested by tribes, in describing the proven success of these housing designs:

"We would never bring anything experimental to low-income families," Thering said.

Stimulus money can go a long way in supporting projects like this; we should be keeping a record of promising models and best practices as they develop as we spend down this money over the next couple years.

(Photo of Solar Richmond trainees from the Apollo Alliance blog)