Green

Not for the Birds: Deep Green at Finch

Join Host Kimberly Vermeer for the story of Finch, the largest new construction affordable housing development in Cambridge, MA in the last 40 years. This episode recounts how Jane Carbone (Director of Development, Homeowners Rehab) and Michelle Apigian (Associate Principal, Icon Architecture) reconciled the ambitious requirements of three leading certifications: Enterprise Green Communities, FitWel and Passive House US as they designed and built Finch. Through collaboration, the team was able to navigate the energy performance and tight building envelope required by Passive House, along with the openness and connectivity associated with FitWel. Not to mention – they built and opened Finch during the Coronavirus pandemic! This episode includes soundscapes from a tour of Finch and a jaunt at Fresh Pond Reservation, Cambridge’s water reservoir just across the street. For full episode show notes, visit www.urbanhabitatinitiatives.com/podcast-home/. Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/UHIPodcast

Resilience Matters: Reimagining the Future in a Tumultuous Year

The Resilience Matters e-book is the latest initiative from Island Press’ Urban Resilience Project, launched in 2013. The goal of the Urban Resilience Project is to advance a transformative approach to climate change and urban resilience, an approach grounded in a commitment to sustainability and equity.

Developing Health-Centered Communities

Kimberly Vermeer will be leading the team-based “Make your Pitch” assignment for an all-new professional education course this spring with Dennis Frenchman and Stanley Shaw: “Developing Health-Centered Communities: The Next Revolution in Real Estate.” Offered virtually over three weeks starting in mid-April through MIT Center for Real Estate and Harvard Medical School, the course explores building projects that create value, promote healthy living, support aging-in-place, and produce communities that thrive.

Green in Action: a New Podcast

How do green building practitioners approach the problems that arise when navigating the complex work of building sustainable affordable housing? Exploring that complexity is where the forthcoming Urban Habitat Initiatives podcast Green in Action comes in.

Revisiting Plaza Roosevelt

Kim revists an affordable housing development featured in Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing: Plaza Roosevelt, in Michigan

Virtual Book Tour Tackles Hot Button Issues

Book tours are looking a little different this year! One silver lining of limitations on in-person events is that communities with diverse perspectives can gather virtually to consider commonly shared issues.

Greenbuild Resilience Summit

The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo has gone virtual! Kim Vermeer is a member of the advisory group for the conference’s Resilience Summit.

Shelterforce Article

Kim Vermeer and Walker Wells published an article in Shelterforce Magazine, Resilience in the Face of a Pandemic: Green Affordable Housing Matters More Than Ever. The article addresses the role of green building in rethinking post-Covid-19 design and development.