Policy Spotlight: On Common Ground Covers Resiliency & Sustainability Design

REALTORS® are engaged in the conversations that shape our communities—this piece from On Common Ground shows how.

Read Article: Exploring Resiliency & Sustainability Design

For centuries, vernacular building techniques used local materials and a knowledge of local conditions to create buildings that were naturally resistant to disastrous weather.

Somewhere in the mid-20th century, conventional building was reflected in suburban sprawl building patterns and mass production with materials sourced from far away. 

When LEED was introduced in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council, sustainable building and the long-term financial rewards of investing in sustainable building became part of our vocabulary.

Today, more brutal (in terms of loss of life and billions in property) natural disasters are happening more frequently. Wildfires, hurricanes, floods and other disasters threaten all that we hold dear.

Planners, architects, builders, developers, REALTORS® and even insurance companies are rallying to get a handle on resilient design.

From protecting individual buildings to entire communities, the professions that shape our built environment and way of life are searching for best practices that will prepare us for and protect us from extreme-weather impacts.

Areas devastated by flooding and windstorms are looking to the nature-based resiliency and self-sufficient sustainability of Florida’s Babcock Ranch — which has survived a hurricane that virtually destroyed nearby Gulf Coast communities.

When communities rebuild after wildfires and other disasters, the president elect of the American Institute of Architects and a leading Disability/Aging in Place/Environment advocate, Illya Azaroff, champions the benefits of Universal Design. Residential and commercial space that is designed to accommodate all ages and abilities adds flexibility, durability and cost efficiency — similar to green building.

Article Headers:

• Wildfires and other disasters exacerbating insurance crisis

• How to design resilient and build back better

• The American Institute of Architects looks at resiliency standards

• Ten principles for building resilience

• HOAS and condo associations can’t ignore risks and repairs

• AI analyzing the climate risk of every neighborhood in the United States

• Resilient communities — looking beyond individual properties

• Wildfire Adaption Principles

• Asheville Area REALTORS® aiding short- and long-term Helene recovery

Read Article: Exploring Resiliency & Sustainability Design