Top 10 Städte für grünes Bauen

Da die Kosten des Energieverbrauchs sowohl in Dollar als auch in Bezug auf die Umweltbelastung steigen und die Weltbevölkerung auf Rekordzahlen ansteigt, integrieren viele Bauherren umweltfreundliche Bauweisen , um diesen Herausforderungen zu begegnen.

Kurz gesagt, umweltfreundliches Bauen verwendet eine Reihe gewissenhafter Design- und Baupraktiken, um die Energieeffizienz eines Gebäudes zu verbessern und gleichzeitig seine ökologischen und ökologischen Auswirkungen zu mindern. Bewertungssysteme wie Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) , eine vom US Green Building Council im Jahr 2000 entwickelte Zertifizierung, messen die ökologische Verträglichkeit der Materialauswahl, des Wasser- und Energieverbrauchs, der Raumklimaqualität und anderer Faktoren. Das LEED -System hat Gegenstücke in anderen Ländern, einschließlich Kanada und Brasilien, und viele Entwicklungs- und Industrienationen haben eigene Agenturen, um umweltverträgliche Baupraktiken zu fördern.

Welche sind die besten Städte für grünes Bauen? Einige sind die langjährigen Vorreiter für nachhaltiges Bauen, die Sie erwarten könnten, während andere als unwahrscheinliche Kandidaten in Schwellenländern auf der ganzen Welt erscheinen. Aber beginnen wir mit dem Heim des ältesten LEED-zertifizierten Gebäudes, das es gibt.

1. Washington, D.C
2. Internationaler Geschäftsbezirk Songdo, Südkorea
3. Los Angeles, Kalifornien
4. Vancouver, Kanada
5. Rio de Janeiro, Brasilien
6. Kopenhagen, Dänemark
7. Chicago, Illinois.
8. Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate
9. San Francisco, Kalifornien
10. China

Washington, DC, der Sitz vieler Bundesbehörden, die Initiativen für umweltfreundliches Bauen in den Vereinigten Staaten beaufsichtigen, ist auch die Heimat einer bemerkenswerten Menge an umweltfreundlichem Bauen. Von 2003 bis 2009 kamen in Washington, DC und der umliegenden Region laut dem Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments [Quelle: Aratani] 23 Millionen Quadratfuß (2.136.730 Quadratmeter) an LEED-zertifizierter Fläche hinzu. 2006 verabschiedete der District of Columbia den Green Building Act, ein Gesetz, das unter anderem eine LEED-Zertifizierung für neue öffentliche Gebäude vorschreibt.

Laut Berichten des US Green Building Council aus dem Jahr 2012 hatte Washington, DC, mit 884 die zweitgrößte Anzahl von LEED-Projekten im Land [Quelle: USGBC]. Es gibt auch 31,5 Quadratfuß (2,9 Quadratmeter) LEED-zertifizierte Fläche pro Einwohner – mehr als in jedem anderen Bundesstaat und mehr als zehnmal so viel wie der Zweitplatzierte Colorado [Quelle: USGBC]. Die Stadt erhebt auch Anspruch auf einen Green-Building-Superlativ: Der 143 Jahre alte Hauptsitz des Finanzministeriums ist das älteste LEED-zertifizierte Gebäude der Welt [Quelle: O'Keefe].

Im Jahr 2009 kündigte die südkoreanische Regierung einen Plan an, eine Million grüne Häuser zu bauen und die Energieeffizienz in einer weiteren Million zu verbessern, zusammen mit vielen anderen nachhaltigen Bauprojekten [Quelle: Watts]. Zwei Jahre später kündigte die Regierung den Bau eines Offshore-Windparks im Wert von 9 Milliarden US-Dollar an [Quelle: Bloomberg Businessweek]. Aber das vielleicht größte Einzelprojekt war seit 2001 im Gange.

Das Songdo International Business District ist eine 1.500 Hektar große Stadt am Wasser, die 40 Meilen (64,4 Kilometer) außerhalb der Landeshauptstadt Seoul liegt. Die Stadt ist eine ausgewiesene Freihandelszone, in der Unternehmen ohne die anderswo im Land bestehenden Steuerlasten operieren können [Quelle: Cortese]. Die 35-Milliarden-Dollar-Entwicklung umfasst mehrere fußgängerfreundliche Viertel, die aus Bürogebäuden, Wohnungen und Einzelhandelsgeschäften bestehen, die alle LEED erfüllen Normen. Die Stadt ist auch Teil des Pilotprogramms LEED for Neighbourhood Development, das die Konnektivität und Nachhaltigkeit der Quartiersgestaltung bewertet. 2008 wurde der Masterplan für die Stadt mit einem Sustainable Cities Award ausgezeichnet. (Während jedoch 40 Prozent der Stadt für Parks und Grünflächen reserviert sind, weisen Kritiker darauf hin, dass das Gelände auf Feuchtgebieten gebaut wurde, die mehrere Arten von Zugvögeln und andere Wildtiere beheimatet hatten [Quelle: Ko. Schubert, Hester] .) Die erste Phase von Songdo wurde offiziell im August 2009 eröffnet und der Bau soll frühestens 2018 abgeschlossen werden [Quelle: Strickland].

Während der Grundriss der südkalifornischen Metropole ein Synonym für „Zersiedelung“ war, haben jüngste Vorschriften Los Angeles reif für grünes Bauen gemacht.

In 2009, the city unveiled the Green Building Retrofit Ordinance, a law requiring city-owned buildings built before 1978 or larger than 7,500 square feet (696.8 square meters) to be refurbished with environmentally friendly materials [source: Database for State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency]. In 2010, the state government adopted agreen building code requiring new homes and commercial and public buildings to cut water consumption by 20 percent over the previous code. Builders also had to begin using low-polluting construction materials and discarding half of construction waste in areas other than landfills [source:Roosevelt].

According to a 2010 Environmental Protection Agency survey, Los Angeles was home to 510 Energy Star-certified buildings for a total of 106.1 million square feet (9,857,013 square meters) -- more than any other city in the country [source: Catacchio].

In 2009, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson called together a Green Action Team and tasked them with setting standards to make the city the greenest in the world by 2020. Among its targets, the team sought to ensure that all new building construction would be carbon neutral, and that all existing buildings would increase their efficiency by 20 percent [source: City of Vancouver]. Today, the city employs a building code that requires all new municipal buildings over 500 square meters (5,382 square feet) in size to meetLEED Gold standards and incorporate passive design, an approach that takes advantage of natural movements in air and light to provide energy. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, the world saw a preview of the city's vision: an LEED Platinum-certified Olympic Village that housed athletes, which derived 90 percent of electricity for the games from hydroelectric power [source:Murphy].

Vancouver's quest for sustainable excellence can be seen in several buildings all around town. The Net Zero Building is the first Canadian multiunit residential building that consumes and creates an equivalent amount of energy. National Yards -- the base for the city's engineering crews -- is the first LEED Gold-certified building in Canada [source: City of Vancouver].

Brazil is currently ranked fourth in the world for LEED building projects, with 37 buildings already certified and 336 undergoing the certification process [source: Green Building Council Brazil]. And with Rio de Janeiro slated to host both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, the coastal metropolis can expect to see a deluge of green construction over the next several years.

In accordance with the International Olympic Committee requirement that venues used for the games meet international standards for carbon emissions and energy efficiency, all 34 of the competition venues will incorporate green features. Although there are no requirements for soccer stadiums built for the World Cup games, according to Green Building Council Brasil, nine of the 12 stadiums being erected throughout the country for 2014 are undergoing the LEED certification process [source: Green Building Council Brazil].

Copenhagen is already home to large tracts of open space, as well as 242.3 miles (390 kilometers) of bike lanes, which one in three residents uses to commute to work or school every day [source: City of Copenhagen]. With 60,000 residents expected to join the population by 2025 and designs on becoming the world's first carbon-neutral city by the same year, the Danish capital, which was among the first municipalities to offer incentives for environmentally friendly practices, continues to be home to key advances ingreen construction [source:City of Copenhagen].

The country's building regulations state that by 2020, buildings' energy consumption must be less than 30.7 kilowatts per square meter per year [source: Danish Architecture Centre]. In 2010, city officials mandated that all new and old rooftops angled under 30 degrees must be green -- meaning that they are literally covered with vegetation to absorb rainwater and cool the building, among other benefits [source:Nusca]. One of the most intriguing projects is expected to open in 2016: a new municipal waste incinerator that will generate energy to power tens of thousands of neighboring homes and feature a ski slope running along its exterior [source:Witkin].

Under former Mayor Richard Daley, Chicago launched several green building initiatives in the early 2000s. In 2002, the city constructed the Chicago Center for Green Technology, the first rehabilitated municipal building to receive an LEED Platinum rating, and a resource for those curious about green building [source: Chicago Center for Green Technology]. Soon after, Chicago began requiringLEED certification for all city buildings, and any building projects receiving financial or zoning assistance from the city had to incorporate green features. Its Green Permit Program also awards projects that incorporate certain sustainable features with a faster permitting process and reduced permitting costs [source:City of Chicago].

As of 2012, the U.S. Green Building Council counts 794 registered or certified LEED projects in Chicago, the third most in the nation [source: USGBC]. The city possesses more than 4 million square feet (371,612 square meters) of green rooftops, which absorb rainwater and help regulate building temperatures [source:Richardson]. The Willis Tower -- the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere (formerly known as the Sears Tower) -- began undergoing a retrofitting in 2009 to cut its energy consumption by 80 percent, derive power from solar panels and wind turbines, and incorporate other sustainable features [source:Stern].

Positioned about 17 kilometers away from the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi, Masdar City bills itself as ''one of the most sustainable communities on the planet' [source: Masdar City].' The $19 billion city, a project of the government-owned Mubdala Development Company that was first conceived in 2006, functions as a testing ground for sustainable technologies and innovations.

So far, six buildings in Masdar City are operational: the campus of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (a relative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), apartments for its student body and instructors, and a smattering of commercial businesses all tied to an intelligent energy grid that monitors energy and water to help meet strict consumption limits. Architectural designs in Masdar draw on passive building designs to reduce energy needs, and the city draws much of its power from a 10-megawatt photovoltaic array on the outskirts of the city. Traditional cars are barred from entering the city, and residents travel either on foot or in a fleet of electric vehicles. A 147-foot-tall (44.6-meter) tower diverts winds to provide residents with a cooling breeze, and its LED display changes color to indicate whether apartment dwellers are adhering to the city's energy consumption standards.

The city has seen several setbacks, including delayed construction deadlines and low effectiveness from the photovoltaic system [source: Vidal]. Construction is planned for completion in 2025, allowing the city to house approximately 40,000 residents and 50,000 commuters [source:Masdar City].

It's no surprise that San Francisco made the list. The city's 2008 green building code predates the state's CALGreen building laws by two years, and its requirements are even stricter [source: SFDBI]. San Francisco requires all municipal buildings, as well as renovations over 5,000 square feet (464.5 square meters), to receive LEED Silver certification, provides faster permit review for building projects intended to reach higher levels of LEED certification, and bans toxic construction materials and certain types of wood in municipal projects [source:SF Planning Department,SFEnvironment]. As of 2012, the city has 522 LEED projects and at least 248 Energy Star-certified buildings within its geographic limits [source:USGBC,Catacchio]. San Francisco also ranked first out of 30 green building markets in the United States in the 2011 Green Building Opportunity Index [source:Better Bricks].

In China, the potential impact of green construction is not limited to a single city. For the last two decades, rural residents have migrated to urban centers by the millions. According to BBC, China's cities should house roughly a billion urbanites by 2025 [source: Campanella]. Constructing homes and facilities to accommodate these massive populations is big business here: Each year, roughly half of the world's new buildings are fabricated in China [source:Larson]. Meanwhile, despite consuming less energy per person than North American counterparts, the country's sheer population makes it the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet [source:Bradsher].

China spends more money than any other country on green energy projects [source: Melik]. The government has launched a few initiatives to promote green building, including subsidies to purchase energy-efficient materials [source:Liu]. While the accuracy of the statistic is questionable, Chinese officials say that more than 95 percent of new buildings constructed in urban areas comply with the country's energy efficiency standards [source:Liu]. But the energy efficiency benefits of green building might be the only viable way to deal with its burgeoning urban population: More than a quarter of the country's energy consumption is linked to its buildings, a figure that is expected to increase 70 percent by 2020 [source:Larson].

Related Links