Modern Homes New England

From Treehugger: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/how_not_to_build_green.php

From the list:

1. It ain’t green to ignore perfectly good homes.
2. It ain’t green to build massive homes.
3. It ain’t green to encourage urban sprawl.
4. It ain’t green to build as if space for homes has nothing to do with transportation.
5. It ain’t green to ignore advantages of multi-family homes.

And the article:

reject the idea that you can build green one house at a time, create an urban space with a high density of multi-family homes to minimize the use of cars

And I again find myself faced with the dilemma of reality vs. theory that I touched upon with No Impact Man’s passed along guidelines for reducing personal carbon emissions by 90%. Let me share with you just how badly I want to live according to this list:

• Our first purchased home is a 1,050 sq ft condo.
• It’s a corner unit in a former school in a historic district in Salem, MA. Many old homes here (centuries old) have been converted to multi-family condos. Our unit was once a classroom, in a portion of the building from the 1870s.
• All our utilities are electric, I pay for GreenUp (investments in renewable energy) on every bill, which is a good thing because we’re in a terribly inefficient situation in the winter, with an unheated basement below us, and our forced air heat rising to help out our upstairs neighbor’s unit.
• We selected this home and location so that we can walk downtown as an option, and so I could walk 15 minutes to the Commuter Rail stop to catch the train into Boston.
• I’m currently working at working from home, freelancing, contracting and managing client projects.

Not too bad, eh? Let me share with you the reality:

• While management obsesses with mysterious water usage rates (it’s probably just a lot of washing machines, both common and in-unit, and strong water pressure), which is paid for by condo fees, and more efficient lighting, I’d be hard-pressed to see a further investment in any additional renewable energy features. There was enough push-back just on recent renovations. I’m sure there’s room on the roof for solar alongside everyone’s heat pumps.
• While we’re comfortable with our multi-family arrangement and our in-building neighbors, the situation outside the building is an entirely different story. To put it briefly: A 3-member household in a 2-bedroom condo in a historic home next door possesses a total of 5 vehicles at present; 3 crammed in an overtaxed driveway under our windows (shared with their downstairs neighbors), including a blasting Harley, two GMC SUVs, and then the twentysomething son’s two project cars in front on the street, one a souped-up Subaru with a blasting muffler worse than the motorcycle.
• This is not atypical, but status quo in this community, with streets packed with cars and engines revving at every intersection.
• We switch from heat to central air come spring, and it runs til fall. Opening our windows opens our home to ceaseless disruptive noise and street exhaust.
• Quality-of-life policing is not a priority. In two years here I’ve not seen one vehicle pulled over for disrupting a residential community. There’s been widespread graffiti since we moved in. I do, however, receive notices in the mail inviting me to come weigh in on someone’s efforts to redo their home’s fence, in the interest of community aesthetics.
• One does have to get in their car occasionally, unfortunately. We rely on Peapod for groceries, but other shopping errands, doctor’s appointments, etc, necessitate getting behind the wheel, and facing endless frustration with local traffic and reckless drivers. Some of whom have accosted me as I’ve tried to enter a crosswalk when walking to the train stop.

While I’ll do everything I can to not contribute to sprawl, make smart choices about my vehicles and consumption, and continue to make an effort at working from home, the next home we own will be new (as new as a container home can be considered) and will not be in an urban setting. I don’t have the resources to keep fighting this fight and getting burned. I grew up in rural homes; it’s a factor in my comfort in this setting. My home is my sanctuary. I’ll be glad to make it a modest home, but I need a guarantee it’ll be respected.

From my experience, I’ve concluded that smart, sustainable communities need a majority buy-in. That doesn’t have to be 50%: It needs to outweigh the factions that just don’t care, or those that are shining examples of conspicuous consumption. I’ve also concluded that in trying to cultivate high-density urban spaces, noise pollution must be taken as seriously as carbon pollution. Unfortunately, where I am, neither seems to be taken very seriously at all. And I can’t afford property in communities where it is taken seriously.