Insights
Dec 15, 2023 _ insights
Housing for a Changed Climate
The impact of climate change affects us all. The places where we live and work have a significant impact on our ability to respond to the anticipated shocks and stressors. I recently participated in a panel discussion that unpacked the need for and benefits of healthy, sustainable, and affordable housing. My co-panelists and I shared insights about local and federal financial incentives, design strategies, and development approaches necessary to deliver healthy housing equitably while adding value to our communities.
It’s not enough to put a roof over someone’s head. Sustainability must be considered in the planning stages of any housing project. Creating multiple—Passive House, standard and prefabricated—housing typologies can improve neighborhood resilience and reduce residents’ energy burden 70% while remaining economically viable. Increased electrification of utilities helps set projects on the road to Net Zero readiness. As we shift from gas boilers to electric heating and cooling, we lower carbon emissions and set ourselves up for a renewable energy future.
See the full presentation here.
You can hear more about the insights I shared at the Summit by listening to my conversation with host Stuart Ungar on the Sustainability Now! podcast here.
Learn more about our sustainability expertise by reading about our IRA Calculator, our Passive House certified housing work at 5th & Dinwiddie, our affordable housing work like Willkommen and Hisle Park, senior housing such as Logan Commons, our adaptive reuse residential work for City Club at the Union Central Trust tower, and Design Issues Series Watershed book.
Tiffany Broyles Yost AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Amb., is an associate principal and director of sustainability & resilience at GBBN. Tiffany provides strategic leadership for sustainable design across the firm’s portfolio of projects, manages the research of the firm’s Sustainability Action Network, oversees our Sustainability Action Plan and spearheads related educational initiatives. Her work includes sustainable design on projects at all scales from international tower mixed-use buildings to single story existing building renovations. Tiffany serves on several non-profit boards and committees including the Greenbuild Summit Advisory Board, the Fitwel Advisory Council, the Louisville Sustainability Council, and the Green Umbrella/Cincinnati 2030 District Health Strategy Committee.
