Gray to Green Communities
A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crises
200 pages
6 x 9
13 figures
Book Description
US cities are faced with the joint challenge of our climate crisis and the lack of housing that is affordable and healthy. Our housing stock contributes significantly to the changing climate, with residential buildings accounting for 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. US housing is not only unhealthy for the planet, it is putting the physical and financial health of residents at risk. Our housing system means that a renter working 40 hours a week and earning minimum wage cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment in any US county.
In Gray to Green Communities, green affordable housing expert Dana Bourland argues that we need to move away from a gray housing model to a green model, which considers the health and well-being of residents, their communities, and the planet. She demonstrates that we do not have to choose between protecting our planet and providing housing affordable to all.
Bourland draws from her experience leading the Green Communities Program at Enterprise Community Partners, a national community development intermediary. Her work resulted in the first standard for green affordable housing which was designed to deliver measurable health, economic, and environmental benefits.
The book opens with the potential of green affordable housing, followed by the problems that it is helping to solve, challenges in the approach that need to be overcome, and recommendations for the future of green affordable housing. Gray to Green Communities brings together the stories of those who benefit from living in green affordable housing and examples of Green Communities’ developments from across the country. Bourland posits that over the next decade we can deliver on the human right to housing while reaching a level of carbon emissions reductions agreed upon by scientists and demanded by youth.
Gray to Green Communities will empower and inspire anyone interested in the future of housing and our planet.
Review Quotes
"Bourland clarifies the myriad challenges current housing stock faces, and the benefits of designing/building with a sustainable/green mentality. She even provides a series of suggestions that can be implemented by individuals now. Accomplishing this will not be easy, but change needs to start happening immediately in order to give the generations that follow a chance at life. This book is required reading for designers, educators, students, and anyone who has a conscience."
Choice
"This book is important because it is so timely and because Bourland skillfully explains how the housing, climate, pandemic, and racial justice issues are inexorably linked."
Journal of Urban Affairs
"Dana Bourland shows us how a smart approach to climate, housing, and social policy can result in a stronger economy and healthier citizens. Communities that were locked out of the last century's pollution-based economy need to be locked into the new clean and green economy. Gray to Green Communities is a must-read for anyone who cares about an inclusive, green path forward."
Van Jones, political commentator, CNN
"If you’re worried about climate change and wondering where to start on the road to a healthy, equitable, and sustainable future, read Gray to Green Communities. Dana Bourland reminds us that a better future must begin at home, or more precisely in the transition to healthier, affordable housing for those who need it most. After all, there’s no place like home."
Gina McCarthy, Pres/CEO of NRDC, Former Administrator of US EPA under President Obama
"Dana has listened to the voice, wisdom, and experience of early champions of the green communities movement. In doing so, she manifests the radical imagination necessary to provide life- and world-changing solutions to our nation’s housing and climate challenges. She also centers racial equity by advancing solutions that prioritize millions of people hurt first and worst by poor housing conditions and climate-related disasters. Gray to Green Communities is a generational call to action and a salve for souls yearning for harmony between people and planet."
Michael McAfee, President and CEO, PolicyLink
"Dana Bourland has paved a path for the United States to improve the quality of housing for all—particularly for those whose security and stability depend on affordable housing. A leader in green affordable housing, she has written a must-have book for those seeking to better understand some of the issues facing housing and the green way forward."
Chrissa Pagitsas, VP, Environmental Social Governance, Fannie Mae
"This crisp book brims with wisdom. Nominally about housing and climate change, it also tackles health risks, poverty, racism, social injustice, and the environmental crisis—and proposes practical, cross-cutting solutions that solve many problems at once. Skillfully deploying both human stories and rigorous data, Dana Bourland gives us a compelling blueprint for sustainable, healthy homes and communities."
Howard Frumkin, Former Director, National Center for Environmental Health, US CDC; Professor Emeritus, University of Washington School of Public Health; Co-editor, "Making Healthy Places"
"In the wealthiest society in history no one should live in substandard housing that wastes lives, energy, and resources. Gray to Green Communities is a thoughtful, articulate, and impassioned call to do better. Dana Bourland makes a powerful case for addressing the housing crisis systematically with the tools of integrated design to help solve problems of climate change, unemployment, and social decay while building cohesive, just, and prosperous communities. A must read!"
David W. Orr, author of "The Nature of Design", "Earth in Mind", and co-editor of "Democracy Unchained"
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Problem with Gray
Chapter 2: The Promise of Green
Chapter 3: Learning from the Green Communities Criteria
Chapter 4: The Challenges to Greening Affordable Housing for All
Chapter 5: A Just Future
Conclusion
Notes
About the Author
Index
Events
ASU Stardust Event Series -- Gray to Green Communities: A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crises
ASU Stardust Event Series -- Gray to Green Communities: A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crises
Wednesday, 9 December 2020 - 1:00pm
US cities are facing the joint challenge of the climate crisis and the lack of housing that is affordable and healthy. In her new book, Gray to Green Communities, affordable-housing expert Dana Bourland argues that we need to move away from a gray housing model to a green model that considers the health and well-being of residents, their communities, and the planet.
Before joining the JPB Foundation, Bourland was Vice President of Green Initiatives for Enterprise Community Partners, leading this national organization's award-winning Green Communities program, including the creation of Green Communities Criteria, Green Communities Offset Fund, and Multifamily Retrofit Program.
This Stardust Center event is in partnership with Arizona State University Sustainability Speaker Series through their Global Sustainability and Innovation. The institute focuses on solutions, engagement, education, research and implementation that enables better lives.
Moderated by Jon Ford, director of strategic initatives for Vitalyst Health Foundation.
Purchase the book from the locally owned Changing Hands Bookstore.
Gray to Green Communities: Addressing Affordable Housing and Sustainability
Gray to Green Communities: Addressing Affordable Housing and Sustainability
Friday, 26 March 2021 - 1:00pm
Communities are facing the twin challenges of creating affordable housing while also addressing climate issues. How can we move from a “gray” housing model to a “green” one that addresses the health and well-being of residents, communities and the world at large?
Join the Maryland Department of Planning and the Smart Growth Network at 1 p.m. Eastern, Friday, March 26, as Dana Bourland shares her experience creating the first standard for green affordable housing that is designed to deliver measurable health, economic and environmental benefits.
Participants of the live webinar are eligible for 1.5 AICP CM credits.
Addressing the Climate Crisis with Green Housing for All
Addressing the Climate Crisis with Green Housing for All
Thursday, 6 May 2021 - 1:00pm
US cities are faced with compounding climate and housing crises. How can communities meet their housing needs while mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change?
By creating green housing affordable for all, cities will contribute to the health and well-being of residents, their communities, and the planet. Considering both systemic questions and action-oriented strategies, the speakers will discuss green building processes and principles that can be incorporated into housing design, construction, rehabilitation, and operation.
Dana Bourland, author of Gray to Green Communities: A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crises and Kimberly Vermeer, co-author with Walker Wells of Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, will illustrate that delivering on the human right to housing and combatting the climate crisis go hand-in-hand. Each will discuss the intersection between equity, housing, and sustainability. After the authors present key ideas from their books, the moderator, Dawn Phillips, will lead a discussion between the authors and the audience.
Panel:
• Dana Bourland, Vice President for the Environment at the JPB Foundation
• Kim Vermeer, LEED AP Homes, President of Urban Habitat Initiatives Inc.
Moderated by Dawn Phillips (He/Him) – Executive Director of Right To The City Alliance
Dana Bourland with Clayton Aldern (livestream): A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crisis
Dana Bourland with Clayton Aldern (livestream): A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crisis
Sunday, 13 June 2021 - 6:00pm
American cities are currently faced with a two-pronged challenge: dealing with our climate crisis, and managing the lack of housing that is affordable and healthy. Our housing is not only unhealthy for the planet, green affordable housing expert Dana Bourland believes, but is also putting the physical and financial health of residents at risk, with full time minimum wage workers unable to afford a two-bedroom apartment in any US county. She argues that we need to move away from a so-called gray housing model to a green model, and she joins us in this livestreamed presentation to introduce a primer on what that would look like.
In conversation with Grist’s Clayton Aldern, Bourland endeavors to demonstrate that we do not have to choose between protecting our planet and providing affordable housing to all. Supported by her book Gray to Green Communities: A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crisis, she draws from her experience leading the Green Communities Program with a national development organization. With examples from green living communities across the country, she lays out the problems that green housing solves, the challenges in the approach, and recommendations for the future of green affordable housing. Don’t miss this exhilarating discussion that will empower and inspire anyone interested in the future of housing and our planet.
Books are available for purchase from local partner Third Place Books.
