Day Five: Houston, Texas

We began our day visiting New Hope Housing.  2424 Sakowitz is a LEED platinum, single room occupancy provider.  The purpose of New Hope is to provide affordable housing for limited income individuals.

Here are a few highlights:

• 166 Units, 6 vacancies at the moment
• 24/7 front desk staffing
• Rainwater capturing
• Energy star appliances
• Not a shelter, allows adults to maintain their sense of dignity
• Computer lab for job seekers

I was somewhat disappointed that the tenants are allowed to smoke inside of their rooms and that each room had its own HVAC unit.  That seems counterproductive to me.  I was also surprised that there was not any quantitative data being compiled to further educate the tenants.  Tenants can essentially turn on all of the lights and turn the A/C on full blast all day and still pay the same low rent (~$430/month).


Our next stop was with Momentum Bay Associates.  The office is certified LEED Silver for commercial interiors.  We sat around a table as owner Mark Robinson spoke to us about his accomplishments.  Robinson has a considerable amount of lucrative contracts.  He also spoke of being good stewards and the moral obligation that we have to care for people and the environment.

Here are a few items that I took away from the meeting:

• Initial improvements should be low-cost, no-cost
• Robinson is active in the community
• Search engine optimization is vital, people won't use your services if they can't find you
• Healthy productivity cannot necessarily be quantified
• Do not overlook faith-based institutions  

Here is a video about the wind turbines that Robinson offers through Green Power 4 Texas

We next visited the Bayou Preservation Association.  Here we met with Steve Hupp (Water Quality Director) and Katharine Lord (Executive Director).  The BPA is a citizens group whose mision is to "protect and restore the richness and diversity of our waterways."  BPA promotes and encourages low impact development.  The bayou is home to the longest paddle trail in Texas, spanning 26 miles.  Many recreational and awareness activities take place along the Bayou.  The Trash Bash is a program that encourages bayou goers to pitch in and devote their time to pick up trash along the banks of the bayou.  This is a great community service opportunity for local boy scout and girl scout troops.  The BPA also utilizes criminal justice facilities by allowing inmates to participate in recreational and occupational activities along the bayou.  We also spent some time learning about the invasive plants and animals that have been introduced into the bayou.  Of interest to me was the Chinese Tallow Tree.  It has very high seed germination and is a feedstock for biodiesel that does not challenge the food supply.

We next toured Discovery Green Park.  The park was constructed in 2009 and achieved LEED Gold status.  The park has seen over 3 million visitors in its short existence.  The project cost roughly $128 million.  The park is a non-profit and is sponsored by BP.  The park utilizes solar pv arrays to power the buildings.  One aspect of the park that I liked was that many of the old trees were left in place instead of being cut down.  This produces a great amount of shade that I am sure park goers can appreciate.

In viewing the project profile and the park, 0 out of 5 points were earned for water efficiency.  Even though runoff water is captured and used, the use does not seem wise.  There are two water intensive devices located at the park, a mist tree and fountain.  The day that we visited was somewhat windy.  I cannot imagine the amount of water that is lost on an annual basis due to evaporation.

Our last visit for the day was with Steve Stelzer at the Houston Green Building Resource Center.  The HGBRC has achieved LEED Gold status.  The building was completed in July of 2011, and is a one stop permitting center for both homeowners and businesses.   Upon arrival one can see the unique rain capturing device in place.  The building also houses a living roof.  There are numerous items on display from low use water appliances to insulation materials.  Essentially this is a place where one can come and see a wide variety of ecofriendly and efficient building materials.  You may also bring in your building plans and have them evaluated for improvements.  The center encourages employees to ride their bicycles to work and has bike racks and showers to accommodate those that chose to do so.  Stelzer encouraged each of us to view the Human Footprint by National Geographic.  The video may be viewed here for free. The Human Footprint.