from the ground up - The Tyee

Excerpts from the ensuing discussion in The Tyee’s comment section:Tough Question, Monteposted by “VivianLea Doubt” on January 12, 2011But after a little reflection, I think transportation hasto come first among elements. In the face of peakoil and water shortages that have hit many Canadianmunicipalities, this may seem, gosh almost frivolous...In thinking about the best community I ever lived in,it was actually also the poorest. What this meant wasthat people walked, took the bus, rode their bikes -obviously because they had to - and the corollary wasthat anywhere one went there were opportunities tomeet ones’ neighbours.On any given day then, I had brief, friendly conversations- or even simply exchanges of greetings, as Imoved about my neighbourhood. The impact of thison obesity, or traffic jams, or a myriad of other factorsprobably cannot be overstated. Certainly, its’ impacton social relationships cannot be overstated; here wasa place where school children walked to school, andneighbours looked out for them, where elders werelooked out for, too, where we felt mostly confidentand safe in our place. This is in stark contrast to thesterile subdivision where I now reluctantly reside -where everyone has a car and no one talks to eachother because they never see each other.I currently am involved in the research, design and(eventual) construction of a Living Building registeredproject just outside Victoria and, for me, thepriority is to try to BALANCE all the elements inorder to create a building that sits comfortably in itsenvironment.That being said, sometimes the elements are self-selecting.For instance; we may not have a choice as toour site, and this could have implications with regardsto transportation, etc. that are outside our control(short of not building at all).I believe we need to have an holistic approach whichrecognises the conditions that apply and works tomaximise the potential of all the elements.Maybe, just maybe, if we had neighbourhoods wherepeople walked to the store, the coffee shop, the bus- maybe this might be the catalyst for the other deepchanges that need to be made.Why the need to prioritize?posted by “stevesatow” on January 13, 2011Monte, firstly I want to say that I have enjoyed readingthis series of articles on green building. Thankyou.That being said, I question the premise that there is aneed to artificially prioritise ANY element in favourof others when drafting a certification programme.32