Les Verts Home and Garden

The environmental movement homebuilding between adolescence.

Judy Corbett and Michael are heroes of the planet. At least according to Time Magazine, they awarded the title in 1999 for his work in founding the village houses, an ecological community in Davis, California. The Corbetts began building houses in the village nearly two decades. One of the earliest modern green developments in the United States has, it supports passive and active solar systems, solar water heaters,  an ecological drainage system, and a network of walking and cycling. Over the years, development has increased from 50 to 240 units, and its popularity has soared. “The houses are now selling in half the time, and for $ 11 per square foot more than the average home in Davis,” said Judy Corbett. “Rather than seen as a hippie subdivision, now people say we are too expensive and exclusive.”

Once there was only one possibility. Today, developments such as townhouses the interest of a growing number of buyers captured. And their influence is spreading around 50,000 green homes built in the United States in the last decade. And in a not too distant future, the principles of sustainable development are also included in the design, construction and equipment of every household in America. About 83 percent of Americans have reduced energy and water in households, according to a 2000 Gallup poll. As these practices are becoming more common, a growing segment of the population is considered progressive value in environmentally sound development. Businesses, consider this early eco-message, stand to benefit enormously. “All homes will be green one day,” said David Johnston , author of Green Building in a world in black and white, and the president, what works, a construction consultancy. “It makes sense because it does not happen.” Read the rest of this entry »