Missing The Forest For The Trees
Early in my blogging days, I wrote a post on the problem of green sprawl--the practice of developing "green" buildings on unsustainable sites. Can a building really be considered green if it is built on greenfields in the urban periphery (like green Wal-Marts or Best Buys), or a single family dwelling comprising of tens of thousands of square feet? Twitterer Lauren Glasscock sent along this fabulous link to the 10 dumbest "green" buildings.
I read about a new version of this phenomenon in Chattanooga. Apparently, Unum Group is:
[B]uilding a $20 million project that includes a parking garage to hold about 1,450 cars which will attempt to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
So now the big question-- Can a parking lot for 1,450 cars ever be "green"?
To be fair, the Chattanooga Times reports:
The garage, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2010, will open the way for the sale of much of Unum's 28 acres of surface parking lots.
Mr. Watjen said property will likely be turned into development for downtown, but it is unclear exactly how it will be distributed.
A garage structure is more sustainable than surface parking lots, for the runoff factor alone. But I question the "green"-ness of erecting infrstructure for 1,450 cars. Is this something the USGBC should be certifying? Or does it compromise the fundamental credibility of the LEED system?
Shari focuses on energy, environmental and building code policy, representing international companies, non-profits and trade associations in their policy and communications campaigns
