Monday, August 11, 2008

Green Diaspora

Austin, Boulder, Eugene, Portland, and ... Pittsburgh?

That's right, our green tour starts in the rust belt. Steel town might be the 57th most populous city in the nation, but it ranks number eight in terms of green building (as measured by the amount of LEED-certified floor space in the city). The green building movement traces some of its roots back to this town, where the Green Building Alliance originally formed in the 90s with the help of local philanthropists led by the Heinz family. Local governments saw the writing on the green-built walls and encouraged the movement through zoning incentives that reward green building and investments in new green facilities for conventions and other public uses.

Philadelphia and South Bronx also make the list of green innovative US cities. A shrinking city never looked so good.

1 comment:

Schultz said...

A few years ago Pittsburgh was rated #1 for LEED certified buildings, but the city's hesitancy to adopt aggressive green building incentives while other cities have done so have caused us to fall behind in the race to be green.