Somehow, another year has flown by! With a hopeful start offered by vaccines and a change in the presidential administration, we looked forward to some relief from the COVID challenges of 2020 and chances to reconnect and move forward. And while the COVID story is not yet finished, 2021 did have many good moments.
New Mexico, a national vacation destination, has a serious housing shortage: over half of the workforce in Santa Fe commutes from out of town. Additionally, the desert state’s frequent droughts and high solar power potential create a strong case for climate resilient development. How can green building address housing affordability, community stability, and climate? This episode of Green in Action follows Homewise, a Santa-Fe-based non-profit housing organization, and learns how it grew to meet these challenges in New Mexico. Host Kimberly Vermeer spoke with Daniel Slavin, the Senior Director of Real Estate Development, and Carl Davis, Construction Manager for the Community Development Department, about how this Community Development Financial Institution’s commitment to sustainability guided their approach. Tune in for the story of Homewise’s organizational transformation from focusing on mortgage financing and education to building community wealth through developing housing and commercial space – and all of it informed by Homewise’s commitment to sustainability and climate resilience. This episode includes a close look at Homewise’s project El Camino Crossing in Santa Fe, (a case study from Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, Revised Edition), its Ruppe B. Drugstore commercial development in Albuquerque, and its anti-displacement efforts. For episode show notes, visit https://urbanhabitatinitiatives.com/podcast/sustainable-homeownership-transforming-communities/. Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/UHIPodcast
In this episode of the Green in Action podcast, host Kimberly Vermeer speaks with Dana Bourland, Enterprise Community Partners alum, founder of the JPB Foundation Environment program, and fellow Island Press author. Kim and Dana get personal about their motivations to push for healthy and equitable housing and discuss what that looks like on a community scale. They dive into the lessons from Dana’s new book, Gray to Green Communities: A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crises. Listen in for a timely conversation about the fundamental shift in approach needed to address the housing and climate crises – from interdisciplinary thinking, bold national measures, to a strong commitment to racial and social equity. Learn more at the show notes on our website, urbanhabitatinitiatives.com
The lack of affordable housing and the climate crisis are two of the most pressing challenges facing cities today. Green affordable housing addresses both by providing housing stability, safety, and financial predictability while reducing environmental impacts. At the Greenbuild Conference and Expo next week, Urban Habitat Initiatives President Kimberly Vermeer will be discussing key findings from her book, Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, Revised Edition with co-author Walker Wells.
2020 and 2021 brought issues of health, equity, and resilience into sharp focus for green building and sustainability practitioners. At the Greenbuild Conference and Expo virtual Resilience Summit next week, Urban Habitat Initiatives President Kimberly Vermeer will be discussing key findings from her book, Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, Revised Edition.
If you ask most green housing practitioners, they’ll tell you that the integrated design process is crucial if you want a successful outcome of truly sustainable communities. But what is the integrated design process, and how do you make it work in practice? In this episode of Green in Action, host Kimberly Vermeer speaks with five green leaders about how they apply the integrated design process in their work. Guests include: Tara Barauskas, Executive Director of the Community Corporation of Santa Monica; Ray Demers, Senior Director of Design Leadership Initiatives at Enterprise Green Communities; Krista Eggers, Vice President of National Initiatives at Enterprise Green Communities, Anne Torney, Partner at Mithun; and Walker Wells, Principal at Raimi + Associates and Kim’s co-author of Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, Revised Edition. For episode show notes, visit www.urbanhabitatinitiatives.com/podcast-home/. Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/UHIPodcast
July brings the one-year anniversary of the publication of Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, Revised Edition. One the one hand, it’s hard to believe it’s been a year. On the other hand, what a year it has been!
The Green in Action podcast team took a filed trip to see Finch, a Passive House, FitWel, and LEED Platinum certified development in Cambridge, MA.
Leading with sustainability as a core value opens an organization up to growth.
Urban Habitat Initiatives President Kimberly Vermeer reflects on her work in 2020.