Discussion: Environmentally Sustainable Housing - Standards and Innovation
After the construction boom in Germany that lasted from the 1950s to the mid-1970s, a process of change took place in society. In addition, a growing environmental awareness developed, and since the beginning of the 1980s, ecological goals have been pursued in housing and urban planning. Over the past 30 years in Europe, roughly 350 environmental housing developments have been realized - 180 of them in Germany, amounting to a total of 26,000 dwellings. Sustainable housing focuses not just on energy efficiency, however. Other important aspects include mobility, use of environmentally friendly building materials, ecologically acceptable supply and disposal, landscaping and spatial design, and space-saving construction. There is still plenty of scope for action as well. Average emissions of greenhouse gases in Germany, for example, could be reduced by up to 80 per cent in larger developments, while still maintaining pres-ent levels of prosperity.
