Deanne Upson, a consultant on climate change in Washington, posed a great question at my post below on soot and solar cookers. In a nutshell, she asked how would you design an energy-efficient home for low and middle-income people in the developing world or in economically distressed areas. I thought a reply rated a post of its own.
Off the top of my head I would say maximizing energy efficiency and deploying renewables are two great places for people in the developing world to start. The International Green Building Movement has been focused on urban housing design and commercial development. I wrote here about the "Masdar Initiative," in Abu Dhabi, which will be a " 6 million square meter sustainable development that uses the traditional planning principals of a walled city, together with existing technologies, to achieve a zero carbon and zero waste community." Sweet. See the project plan and some graphics from the architects, Foster and Partners.
In Green Tech, Low Tech, Clean Tech, New Tech from a year ago, I noted a fascinating exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, on "Design for the Other 90%." Here's their section on innovative designs for shelter. Also, UNEP has a vigorous Sustainable Buildings And Construction Initiative. This particular section of their report on "Buildings and Climate Change" has excellent information on low-energy and zero-energy buildings and passive houses. The Rocky Mountain Institute, whose motto is "Abundance by Design," has done a lot of consulting on buildings. See this section of their website. Of course, the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment (COTE) have been doing superb work for years. The USGBC has an extensive list of links. See also the work of their sister organization, the World Green Building Council.
There is truly extraordinary work being done in the area of green building. Human habitat is obviously a critical area in which we can achieve great things, sustainably.
