Shang, L., Dermisi, S., Choe, Y., Lee, H. W., & Min, Y. (2023). Assessing Office Building Marketability before and after the Implementation of Energy Benchmarking and Disclosure Policies—Lessons Learned from Major U.S. Cities. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 15(11), 8883–. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118883
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Abstract
An increasing number of U.S. cities require commercial/office properties to publicly disclose their energy performance due to the adoption of energy benchmarking and disclosure policies. This level of transparency provides an additional in-depth assessment of a building’s performance beyond a sustainability certification (e.g., Energy Star, LEED) and may lead less energy-efficient buildings to invest in energy retrofits, therefore improving their marketability. However, the research is scarce on assessing the impact of such policies on office building marketability. This study tries to fill this gap by investigating the impact of energy benchmarking policies on the performance of office buildings in four major U.S. cities (New York; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; and Chicago). We use interrupted time series analysis (ITSA), while accounting for sustainability certification, public policy adoption, and property real estate performance. The results revealed that in some cities, energy-efficient buildings generally perform better than less energy-efficient buildings after the policy implementation, especially if they are Class A. The real estate performances of energy-efficient buildings also exhibited continuously increasing trends after the policy implementation. However, due to potentially confounding factors, further analysis is required to conclude the policy impacts on energy-efficient buildings are more positive than those on less energy-efficient buildings.
Keywords
building energy benchmarking and disclosure policies; building energy efficiency; office buildings; time series modeling
A new international research partnership aims to spark dialogue and learning through storytelling about sustainable and equitable urban development. Collaborators from five global cities have partnered to shift common practices of how stories of successful urban change are told and who tells them. The study involves three case study cities that are exemplars of sustainable and equitable development. Local collaborators include academics and their community-based partners in Belfast (Queen’s University), Northern Ireland, Belo Horizonte (Federal University of Minas Gerais Brazil…
In March 2021, Population Health Initiative awarded 8 pilot grants. The team below includes CBE researcher Andrew Dannenberg, read more about their final project outcomes. A Collaboratory to Support Equitable and Just Climate Action Investigators Jeremy Hess, Departments of Emergency Medicine, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, and Global Health Jason Vogel, Climate Impacts Group Julian Marshall, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Sara Curran, Jackson School of International Studies and Department of Sociology Kris Ebi, Departments of Environmental & Occupational…
The CBE Climate Solutions Community of Practice was featured in a story on the CBE website. See the excerpt below. “Through the materials we use and the ecosystems we alter, arguably more than 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions are related to the built environment,” says Kate Simonen, a professor of architecture at UW’s College of Built Environments and founding director of the Carbon Leadership Forum. Simonen’s primary research focus is reducing the environmental impact of building materials, and she’s been…
Dylan Stevenson was selected by University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce to serve on the Population Health Initiative executive council beginning Autumn 2023. Assistant Professor Stevenson brings expertise to the team, including his research interests surrounding how culture informs planning strategies and influences land relationships. More specifically, he investigates how tribal epistemologies structure notions of Indigenous futurities by centering Indigenous cultural values at the forefront of environmental stewardship and cultural preservation. See the full list of new council appointees…
Kim, B., Rosenberg, D. E., Dobra, A., Barrington, W. E., Hurvitz, P. M., & Belza, B. (2023). Association of Perceived Neighborhood Environments With Cognitive Function in Older Adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 49(8), 35–41. https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20230707-04
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Abstract
The current study examined the associations between perceptions of the social and physical neighborhood environments and cognitive function in older adults. This cross-sectional study analyzed 821 adults aged & GE;65 years from the Adult Changes in Thought study. Perceived neighborhood attributes were measured by the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Scale. Cognitive function was assessed using the Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument. The associations were tested using multivariate linear regression. One point greater perceived access to public transit was associated with 0.56 points greater cognitive function score (95% confidence interval [CI] [0.25, 0.88]), and an additional one point of perceived sidewalk coverage was related to 0.22 points higher cognitive function score (95% CI [0.00, 0.45]) after controlling for sociodemographic factors. The perception of neighborhood attributes alongside physical infrastructure may play an important role in supporting older adults' cognitive function.
Keywords
Built environment; Physical-activity; Dementia; Reverse; Walking; Disease
[Re]Visioning the Ave: Students Devise Real-World Strategies for a Thriving, Accessible Neighborhood Hub was published on the College of Built Environments website, discussing the future of “The Ave.” The U-District Partnership (UDP)—a nonprofit organization worked with Teaching Affiliate David Blum and a diverse team of 16 urban planning graduate students through the process of assessing potential improvement strategies for the Ave in Winter 2022. Read more here.
Depari, Catharina D.A., & Lindell, Michael K. (2023). “Moving or not?”: Factors affecting community responses to environmental disruption. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 95, 103898.
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Abstract
Disputes between government authorities and high-risk communities about community relocation following disasters are not new. Nevertheless, there remains a limited understanding of factors affecting people's decisions about whether to relocate from a hazard zone, particularly in the Indonesian context. Through the experience of the Pelemsari community, a culturally distinct community near Mt. Merapi that once was located less than five km from the volcano crater, this article attempts to explain why the Pelemsari community differed from neighboring communities by abandoning its previous resistance to relocation after an unprecedented eruption in 2010. To explain this behavior change, the study used hermeneutic phenomenology, a methodology rooted in the people-place relationship and specifically used to unfold the meaning structures of a lived experience. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, field observations, and document reviews. The results showed that people's strong place attachment affected residents' decision to uphold unity with their neighbors, select a relocation site that is outside the hazard zone but close to the former location, and engage in collective action that pressured the government to issue legal certificates of their former homes. These results show how a deep understanding of people's place attachment can make it possible to achieve a successful community relocation.
Keywords
Post-disaster displacement; Community relocation; Place attachment; Cultural attachment; Risk perception
Five projects were awarded Inspire Fund awards in February 2022. They have completed various stages of work and have provided a report on their progress and products. Below, excerpts from these reports are highlighted to showcase the work that has been “Inspired” in 2022-23. Rick Mohler: “One Seattle: Leveraging Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan Update to advance housing diversity, affordability, livability and racial equity” This funding supported products from the Architecture 594 research seminar and Architecture 508 design studio, which tasked students…
Research Interests: urban sustainability and resiliency, hybridized built environments, wetland city and wetland center typologies, nature-based solutions and scalable blue-green-gray infrastructure, human ecology and urban informatics in urban design