Climate Resilient Communities

HERE4CJ 

Philly Climate Works and Green Building United are working together to convene the Housing Equity Repairs and Electrification for Climate Justice (HERE4CJ) working group to explore the opportunities and barriers for healthy home repairs and equitable electrification in Philadelphia. 

To achieve scalable solutions that address affordability, health, workforce, and a changing climate, we are bringing together community members, environmental and climate justice leaders, housing rights advocates, building engineers, workforce development partners, CDC implementers, and finance experts to create the case for why electrification + home repairs is critical for the health, environment, and economy of Philadelphians and is an essential anti-displacement strategy. The working group will provide technical research for building electrification, Workforce Development research and strategies, long-term financing and policy solutions, as well as develop and design pilot projects for analysis and lessons learned. 

Climate Resilience Workshops

Green Building United is partnering with Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC) to provide community climate resilience workshops. Workshops have taken place in 2018 and 2019, that gathered urban planners, project managers, developers, community groups, and interested community members to discuss how climate change is impacting Philadelphia communities and what can be done to address impacts at the local level. 

Future workshops will be posted on our events page. You can view pas workshops by clicking the links below.  

• 2019 Workshop

• 2018 Workshop

Demonstration Project

The intent of the Demonstration Project, which began in 2018, was two-fold: to establish the feasibility of renovating existing brick masonry rowhouses to the Passive House standard; and design infill affordable housing to meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge. Using charrettes and workshops to engage with the design community, participants have learned about opportunities to rethink how we design and build using above code standards as a guide for future development.  

• Read a recap of the Living Building Challenge Demonstration Project.  
• The Passive House Community has launched its second Demonstration Project, this time partnering with Habitat for Humanity. See our events page for upcoming charrettes. 
• The Passive House Community is also developing a Rowhouse Manual based on their previous project. This is slated for release in 2021 so please stay tuned! 

New Gravity Housing Conference: Climate Change and the Imperative of High Performance Affordable Housing

The reality of climate change will fundamentally alter the way buildings are designed, built, and operated in the coming decades.

At the same time, the need for quality affordable housing that can withstand increasingly extreme and volatile weather continues to grow. Building healthy, safe, and accessible places to live that will both limit and adapt to climate impacts is a key challenge for the 21st century. This cutting edge conference will explore the tools, techniques, and practices that the building community is using to address this challenge. 

Exceeding Intent

In partnership with the Sustainable Business Network's GSI Partners, Green Building United published Exceeding Intent, a precedent library of exemplary green stormwater infrastructure designs, systems, and approaches.

The library is a tool to help inform the approval of additional vegetated and innovative stormwater management projects in Philadelphia and is a resource for developers, designers, engineers, elected officials, regulators, and the general public.