Pathways to Sustainable Housing

The world is observing unprecedented, devastating, yet growing effects of climate change. GDP has been slow for decades; Covid-19 has disturbed the economy; energy prices are rising; unemployment remains high; consumer debt and budget deficit are climbing; wealth inequality is at an all-time high. Still, 89% of the energy consumed in the United States comes from non-renewable sources. Amid this challenging time, the question this work tries to answer is how can we protect our climate and environment through innovative development policies and practices that concurrently promote social equity and preserve economic viability? To answer this question, I explore five sustainable housing goals: climate protection, policy innovation, environmental protection, social equity, and economic growth.

I use data and empirical analysis to show sustainable development challenges and conflicts are significant. I share lessons learned from cities and states that act as pioneers of climate and environmental protection; I explore a balanced integration of economic, environmental, and social goals through zero-energy building in the traditionally siloed policy sector of low-income housing; I show that a lack of consideration for social equity can turn environmental initiatives into luxury goods that surrender equity to profitability; I show that a lack of consideration for economic viability can lead to underinvestment in environmental and social equity initiatives.

The overall insights derived from this study suggest that state housing agencies and local governments, particularly in large cities and in communities that are more vulnerable to environmental risks, are in a unique position to stimulate and drive climate and environmental protection. Significant between-agency differences in housing policy innovation persist, and future policy innovation research should explore factors that impact the utility of policy innovation and barriers the environmental sustainability movement faces at the organization level and beyond. Existing challenges to distributed energy generation need further study. This research highlights the need for greater policy attention to affordable housing needs in core urban areas, neighborhood diversity, and costs of gentrification.