why historic preservation is a sustainability issue

[miriamjoyce]

Putting numbers behind why I could never get as excited about new green buildings (including the very-big-deal one being planned while I was at Oberlin) as everyone expected me to

Comments

[syncretistfool]

LOL. I looked at the phrase "historic pres" in the subject line, and expected there to be a connection to Obama in there somewhere.

[miriamjoyce]

Ooops. That would make sense. Um. Maybe I'll edit.

[mistergoat]

Ha! Looks like you've edited since then--which is good.

Nice piece, too. Michigan is on a huge building binge, and I've been trying to point out that it's a waste of resources (as well as money, though that mostly comes from donors who specifically say that they want buildings). Having some figures to attach to that is nice, particularly in response to those who reply that the new building will be fine because it meets LEED certification or some other such low-threshold measure of sustainability.

[kombu]

Thanks for posting this. I emailed the link to Eric (my boss). We've been talking about development projects, and of course everyone (else) wants to build new. Our funder wants to build new in the suburbs - at least Eric is clear that we won't be doing that. My preference for rehab/re-use has been heard but not joined in with - maybe this will make a difference.

[jwitchbaby]

There's an article on Buffalo in today's NY Times that has a nice, and (relatively) local, spin on this.